Indigenous Peoples' Rights: Has the European Union's Human Rights Preservation Initiative(s) Failed the Roma Population? A Look Back on the Last Fifteen Years of Directives, Declarations, and Human Rights Treaties

Abstract

Throughout modern history, the Roma population has suffered through denial of certain fundamental human rights, facing the likes of mass genocide, underrepresentation, and unemployment. In the last two decades the European Commission attempted programs and education reform directly concerning the Roma population in the European Union. The European Union should strive for further integration and acceptance of the Roma population in the European Union through programs that provide full economic benefits that other citizens of the European Union possess and recognition of individual fundamental human rights of the Roma. The Roma population makes up one of the largest minority populations in the European Union. While the Roma population can also be found globally, the scope of this paper is limited to the rights, legislation, and laws directly affecting the Roma population in Europe, specifically within the European Union.Although the European Union has attempted programming to target the Roma, those initiatives, directives, treaties, and laws have failed to adequately protect the Roma from persecution. More specifically, the initiatives, directive, treaties, and laws that will be covered include the Council Directive of June 2000: Implementing the Principle of Equal Treatment Between Persons Irrespective of Racial or Ethnic Origin (“Directive”), the Council Framework of 2008 (“Framework”), the Racial Equality Directive of 2000 (“Racial Equality Directive”), the Lisbon Treaty, the European Convention on Human Rights (“ECHR”), and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (“UDHR”). Each of these individual initiatives, directives, treaties, and laws will be referred to as a “program” the European Union government has attempted to enact in order to curb the problems Romanies face. The programs remain inadequate because the Roma population still faces the threat or reality of violence, an inferior education system, lack of access to employment or healthcare, and countless other atrocities. These programs have failed because of issues with their implementation within individual countries as well as the European Union’s citizens willingness to participate in them. Additionally, these programs have failed due to a lack of governmental oversight. In addition to the programs failing the Romanies, the human rights treaties enacted to protect the Roma have failed because of a lack of governmental oversight and implementation. The programs and human rights treaties that were enacted in order to help shield the Romanies from harm, have failed to protect them on the local and global level.Part I of this article provides an introduction to the history and culture of the Romanies to provide background to their modern day persecution as well as describe the historical oppression faced by the Romanies that began with their former enslavement. This section also demonstrates that the unique culture of migration of this ethnic group has led to large misconceptions about their employability, work ethic, health, and overall drive as a citizenry. Part II discusses the European Union law, human rights codes, and other forms of governing international law and how they specifically address the Roma population. Part III discusses the failure of the Directive and its impact on the Roma population’s basic human rights. Part IV discusses the legislation that followed the European Council’s Directive of 2000 and how each initiative has attempted to further protect and preserve the Roma population’s basic human rights. More specifically, this section will focus on the Council Resolution of March 2009 (“Resolution 2009”), The Parliament Resolution of March 2010 (“Resolution 2010”), the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (“Charter”), and the Commission Recommendation of February 2013 (“Recommendation 2013”). Part V discusses the current European Union leadership and whether its focus on protecting and preserving basic human rights is providing enough protection for the Roma Population. Finally, Part VI concludes with a summation of the failures of the initiatives and laws in the European Union over the last fifteen years to protect the Roma population as well as a potential solution that would alleviate the burdens carried by the Roma population.