ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON THE FRAMEWORK CONVENTION FOR THE PROTECTION OF NATIONAL MINORITIES

ACFC/OP/IV(2020)001Final

Fourth Opinion on - adopted on 26 May 2020

Summary

Bulgaria has made progress in the implementation of the Framework Convention. As far as the legislative framework is concerned, Bulgaria has further developed its legislation on non-discrimination and introduced a more comprehensive ban on incitement to discrimination, violence or hatred on religious grounds. The authorities are engaged in combating anti-Semitism, and the funding scheme for religious denominations has been reformed for the benefit of the Muslim community. Concerted efforts regarding access to education have resulted in higher attendance rates of Roma children in schools and a gradually decreasing number of early school leavers.

As regards the cultural, linguistic and participation rights of persons belonging to national minorities, the legal framework in place remains underdeveloped. Apart from the right to learn one’s mother tongue, there is no comprehensive legal framework granting specific rights to persons belonging to minorities in such fields as culture, media, language use in contacts with the authorities, topographical signage or political participation. This is regrettable not only as regards the numerically large Roma and Turkish minorities; numerically small minorities, such as , Aromanians, Jews, Karakachani and , also suffer from the only minimal support provided to enable them to protect and develop their cultures and languages. The take-up of Turkish first language education is in sharp decline; only very few children learn Armenian, and no mother tongue teaching is provided for Greek, Romani or Romanian.

Despite the authorities’ commendable efforts in the field of education of Roma children, problems persist with regard to advancing to secondary education and the quality of education. Roma continue to be affected by marked socio-economic inequality in education, housing and employment and are still exposed to high levels of discrimination, hostility and anti-Gypsyism. Frequent de-facto segregation in education, as well as in the housing and health sectors, is a reality and the authorities’ efforts in combating this situation are insufficient.

The authorities are making efforts to promote inter-ethnic and inter-religious tolerance but these are regularly undermined by xenophobic, anti-Gypsy, Islamophobic and antisemitic statements by high-level politicians and media reporting of a similar nature, to which the authorities often fail to respond. Persons belonging to national minorities are often subject to incitement to hatred, motivated most frequently by anti-Gypsyism and Islamophobia. While the legal framework on hate speech and hate crime is largely satisfactory, cases of sanctions for hate crimes remain isolated and interlocutors complain about a climate of impunity, in particular with regard to hate speech and hate crimes against Roma. ACFC/OP/IV(2020)001Final

The National Council for Co-operation on Ethnic and Integration Issues is not considered by minority organisations as an effective tool to participate in public affairs. Its twin function as a consultative body for both the implementation of the Roma Integration Strategy and the protection of minorities in general appears to exacerbate the problem.

Issues for immediate action

 develop, adopt, implement and regularly evaluate, with the effective participation of members of the Roma communities and other stakeholders, a comprehensive new Strategy for Roma inclusion for 2021 onwards. The authorities should continue prioritising access to education for Roma children, extend the education mediators programme and combat segregation. Evictions of Roma from informal housing should be carried out only as a last resort and in compliance with the principles