Brussels, 30/08/2012 (Agence Europe) - France must ensure its policy of dismantling Roma camps and expelling migrants does not breach international rules, the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) said on Wednesday, as reported by Reuters. Council rapporteurs went on to say that the expulsions are continuing, which threatens to put families in situations of great vulnerability. They underlined the need to provide better housing for Roma migrants.
Several Roma camps have been dismantled in France over recent weeks and again on Thursday 30 August. The French government has justified dismantling saying the conditions in which migrants were living were insalubrious. The UN is not, however, convinced by that explanation. François Crépeau, UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of migrants, who was cited by Reuters, said the “ultimate aim seems to be the expulsion of communities of Roma migrants from France”. He added that “collective expulsion is banned by international law and any repatriation must be voluntary - in line with international criteria - and be based on individual assessments and independent inspection”.
The Roma are European citizens while at the same time being the most marginalised minority in Europe. It is to be regretted that they still do not enjoy the same right of freedom of movement and of settlement and continue to suffer from discriminatory treatment, was the view taken by Rita Izsak, a UN independent specialist on the question of minorities.
The European Commission also sounded a note of warning to France concerning its handling of the Roma question. On Friday 31 August, a delegation of the French government will be visiting the Commission on this matter. Commissioner Reding is to be in Paris on 4 September.
The European Network Against Racism (ENAR), for its part, also sent a letter to the Luxembourg commissioner and to French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, calling the European institutions, including at a forthcoming European summit that could include the theme on its agenda, to implement inclusion for the Roma and react to any attack against the Roma community. The French government was invited by ENAR to put an end to its policy of expelling the Roma, in order to comply with international standards and promote the integration of Roma not only through employment but also through education and healthcare. (SP/transl.jl)