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Recent rise in national security discourse in Europe:
the case of Roma

Resolution 1760 (2010)1

1.       The
Parliamentary Assembly is appalled that, just a few weeks
after it adopted
Resolution 1740 (2010) on the situation of Roma in Europe
and relevant activities of the Council of Europe, calling on
member states to improve the situation of Roma and ensure the
full respect of their fundamental rights, politicians in
several Council of Europe member states, have resorted to
anti-Roma rhetoric, associating Roma with crime and
trafficking. This has led to the toughening of security
policies and measures directly targeting the Roma, such as the
dismantling of their settlements and waves of repatriation of
Roma migrants to their countries of origin.

2.       The
Assembly shares the concerns expressed on this occasion by its
President, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights
and the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance
(ECRI), the United Nations, the European Union and other
international organisations, as well as by human rights
defenders and the media. It notes in this respect that the
European Commission is currently assessing compliance with
European Union law by several European Union member
states.

3.       For
its part, the Assembly is particularly
worried that, as public security takes an increasingly
prominent place in political debates, notably as a consequence
of the economic crisis, rising unemployment and higher levels
of crime, security discourse is increasingly used in
conjunction with discriminatory language which tends to link
insecurity with ethnic communities, including migrants, using
them as scapegoats, as has been the case recently with
Roma.

4.       The
Assembly notes that European countries which offer better
living conditions and have more generous social protection
systems attract migrants from countries in a less favourable
situation, sometimes creating pressure for the social
institutions of the states concerned.

5.       The
Assembly notes that while a community should obviously not be
singled out for opprobrium, but should be helped, there is no
point in denying the problems, as this would play into the
hands of extremism. The underlying causes of the
marginalisation of Roma should therefore be addressed.

6.       The
Assembly notes that EU funding is not used as well as it might
be and that it should be used more effectively in support of
Roma or, if that proves impossible, redeployed in the host
countries.

7.       While
mainstream parties have long failed to anticipate or face the
challenges of public order and personal security, extremist
populist parties have sought to capitalise on society's
security concerns by simply equating immigration with crime
and insecurity.

8.       The
Assembly is particularly concerned about a dual trend at
present in Europe: on the one hand, extreme right-wing parties
are being elected into national parliaments in growing
numbers; on the other, mainstream parties, in an attempt to
detract their voters from turning to far-right parties and
regain popular support, are coining some of the radical,
xenophobic and discriminatory language of extremist parties.

9.       Whilst
the Assembly acknowledges that, faced with a surge in
criminality, authorities in many Council of Europe member
states feel obliged to strengthen policies aimed at protecting
public order and personal security of all people living within
their territory, it stresses that a clear distinction must be
made in political discourse between individuals who have
committed crimes and entire groups of people, such as Roma or
any other minority or migrant group.

10.       The
Assembly strongly condemns as racist and xenophobic, and
therefore unacceptable in a democracy, the use of language
stigmatising Roma or any other minority or migrant group. The
Assembly attaches the utmost importance to freedom of
expression, inter alia in political debates on immigration.
However, all forms of racial or ethnic discrimination are
unacceptable. As the European Court of Human Rights has
pointed out, freedom of expression can legitimately be
restricted in the case of statements which are liable to
prompt a feeling of rejection and hostility towards a given
community, in accordance with Article 10 paragraph 2 of the
European Convention on Human Rights.

11.
Politicians have a special responsibility to eliminate
negative stereotyping or stigmatising of any minority or
migrant group from political discourse. They should promote a
message of non-discrimination, tolerance and respect for
people from different backgrounds.

12.
Therefore, the Assembly reaffirms Council of Europe standards
and policy guidelines applicable to political discourse
contained, inter alia, in the case law of the European
Court of Human Rights, the Committee of Ministers
Recommendation No. R (97) 20 on “hate speech”, the ECRI
general policy recommendations and its 2005 Declaration on the
use of racist, antisemitic and xenophobic elements in
political discourse, recommendations by the Commissioner for
Human Rights, as well as related documents of the Venice
Commission and its own
Resolution 1345 (2003) on racist, xenophobic and
intolerant discourse in politics and
Resolution 1754 (2010) on the fight against extremism:
achievements, deficiencies and failures, and calls on:

12.1.
the Council of Europe member states to:

12.1.1. sign and ratify or otherwise
endorse, if they have not done so, and effectively
implement in their national law and practice the Council
of Europe legal instruments and standards, guidelines and
policies relating to the prohibition and prevention of
hate speech and discrimination, including the Framework
Convention on the Protection of National Minorities and
the European Charter on Regional and Minority
Languages;

12.1.2.
enforce national legislation on hate speech and
discrimination;

12.1.3. ensure full compliance with human
rights standards and the principles of democracy and the
rule of law when devising and implementing policies aimed
at protecting public order and personal security of all
people living within their territory, including the
principles of non- discrimination and
proportionality;

12.2.
public authorities and public institutions at the national,
regional and local levels, as well as officials to:

12.2.1. refrain from statements, in
particular to the media, which may reasonably be
understood as hate speech, or as speech likely to produce
the effect of legitimising, spreading or promoting racial
hatred, xenophobia, or other forms of discrimination or
hatred based on intolerance;

12.2.2. publicly condemn and refute such
statements whenever they occur;

12.2.3. where expulsion is concerned,
apply a strict interpretation of the “breach of the public
order” justification, as frequently used by the
authorities when ordering expulsions, in accordance with
the relevant case-law of the European Court of Human
Rights.

13.       The
Assembly reiterates the importance of the Charter of
European Political Parties for a Non-Racist Society, signed by
its President and the President of the European Parliament in
2003, and urges political parties, political forces and
political and public figures in member states, international
groupings of political parties, and its own members, to commit
themselves to:

13.1.
adhering to and actively implementing and promoting the
principles contained in the Charter;

13.2.
actively contributing to combating attempts to stigmatise
and incite feelings of hostility towards any individual or
group of people on the basis of their race, ethnic origin,
nationality, religious beliefs or social origin;

13.3.
combating any action or language likely to reinforce fears
and tensions between groups from different racial, ethnic,
national, religious or social backgrounds;

13.4.
dealing responsibly and fairly with sensitive topics relating
to such groups;

13.5.
refraining from using racist, xenophobic, aggressive
nationalistic, ethnocentric, or any other discriminatory
discourse, or pursuing such political agendas and dealing
firmly with any racist sentiments and behaviour within their
own ranks.

14.
Convinced of the particular responsibility incumbent upon the
media, the Assembly calls on them to:

14.1.
refrain from disseminating messages which might feed
animosity towards individuals or groups of people belonging
to an ethnic, national, cultural, linguistic or religious
community or minority, or migrants, refugees, asylum seekers
or people of immigrant origin;

14.2.
avoid, when reporting on social or crime problems, selective
mentioning of ethnic or national origin, or the fact of
belonging to a religious, cultural or linguistic community
or minority, of those involved;

14.3.
refrain from stirring tensions between local Roma and
traveller communities and Roma migrants.

15.
Reaffirming its
Resolution 1740 (2010) and
Recommendation 1924 (2010) on the situation of Roma in
Europe and relevant activities of the Council of Europe,
adopted in June 2010, the Assembly:

15.1.
welcomes and supports the initiative by the Secretary
General of the Council of Europe to call a high-level
meeting to agree measures to improve the situation of Roma
throughout Europe as a starting point for a joint effort by
the European institutions and the member states to tackle
the matter in a sustainable and constructive manner;

15.2. expresses its readiness to contribute
to the success of this high-level meeting by bringing in its
own experience of dealing with issues relating to the Roma
and promoting implementation of any adopted decisions;

15.3.
in terms of expulsions, calls on the member states to fully
comply with their obligations – including of a procedural
nature – under the European Convention on Human Rights and
the relevant case law of the Court, refrain from conducting
disguised collective expulsions and, in accordance with the
recommendations of the Council of Europe Commissioner for
Human Rights, refrain from returning Roma to Kosovo until it
can be established that such returns can be undertaken with
full regard to the safety and prospective living conditions
of returnees;

15.4.
encourages member states to make greater use of the European
Social Fund to integrate Roma, and of the project loans
granted by the Council of Europe Development Bank, which
have already helped fund projects aimed at integrating Roma
migrants in both member states and other countries with
significant Roma populations;

15.5.
invites the Secretary General of the Council of Europe to
inform the Assembly, at the earliest possible opportunity,
about the outcome of the high-level meeting;

15.6.
resolves to continue to monitor carefully the situation of
Roma in Europe, in the light also of the outcome of the
high-level meeting, and, in this context, to take up the
issue of Roma movement and migration in Europe, together
with Roma return policies and practice.

1 Assembly debate on 7 October
2010 (34th Sitting) (see Doc.
12386, report of the Political Affairs Committee,
rapporteur: Mrs Brasseur, Doc.
12390, opinion of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human
Rights, rapporteur: Mr Năstase and Doc.
12392, opinion of the Committee on Migration, Refugees and
Population, rapporteur: Mr Greenway). Text adopted by the
Assembly on 7 October 2010 (34th Sitting).

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