Education
 Hector McNeill
ECRE |
"I know of no example of human rights abuse which does not come at a heavy cost to society in general. It is achieved by politicians operating such systems out of sight and in silence. The Nazis, who pioneered such a system for Roma and Jewish children, followed this strategy as did Stalin with his Gulag. This segregated educational gulag is run by people with similar motivations and mind sets. This is denial of participatory democracy, a denial of freedom. Such governments do not respect the rights of all citizens to be free and happy. This is a primitive collectivism demostrably capable of the inhumane abuse of innocent children and their families.
The formation of the European Union, some say, was motivated by a desire to avoid such tyranny in the future. But the European Commission actively courts such governments, it makes no effective or substantive comment, it remains silent. This complicity reflects a clear decay in moral, ethical and political standards at the Commission. This is no way to develop a Union within which all people are respected and safe from institutional discrimination and abuse."
* The countries concerned are the Czech republic, Hungary and Slovakia. |
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Segregated Romani Schooling - Inverview Part II
Public Interest Lawyers (PIL) a British legal practice have sent a letter to the European Commission requesting that they terminate segregated schooling for Roma and, in particular, effective denial of education in the Czech republic, Hungary and Slovakia.
PIL are acting for the European Committee on Romani Emancipation who maintain that the European Commission has failed to act, during a period of some eight years, according to European Council instructions. Romani World has interviewed Hector McNeill, who is the member of the European Committee on Romani Emancipation responsible for Central Europe to find out some of the details of this case. This is the second part of a 5 part inverview (these interviews have been syndicated) which can be accessed here:
RomaniWorld: In the first part of this interview we discussed the specific failures of the European Commission in following European Council requirements on pre-accession. You emphasised a generic failure to make proposals and to bring about changes in administrative structures to support transposed legislation on all matters related to the Roma. It does seem clear that the segregation of Roma children and failure to provide an adequate education is a government policy in the Czech republic, Hungary and Slovakia. As you said, it is managed by staff of central and local government and the affected children are in governemnt installations.
In this part of the our discussion we turn to the legal details and specifically the legal transgressions of these countries and, indeed, the European Commission.
McNeill: To start with, education is a legal right in itself and basic education is an important means of effective participation in society. The European Convention on Human Rights, the first protocol, article two, for example, states that no person shall be denied the right to education. In the exercise of any functions which it assumes in relation to education and to teaching, the State shall respect the rights of parents to ensure such education and teaching in conformity with their own religious and philosophical convictions. I should point out that our findings are that there is no parental choice in this segregated system.
Article 14, of the same Convention, states that the enjoyments of the rights and freedoms set forth in the Convention shall be secured without discrimination on any grounds such as sex, race, colour, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, association with a national minority, property, birth or other status. The system we are addressing is completely discriminatory.
Similar provisions exist under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights as well as the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Romani World: You just mentioned the rights of parental choice in education. But do children have rights on this question?
These Hungarian Romungro sisters of normal intelligence face the same fate of condemnation to segregation and denial of education in Europe ! |
McNeill: Yes they do. This was set out in the letter from PIL to the Commission. Specifically, under the Convention of the Rights of the Child article 28 states that States Parties recognize the right of the child to education, and with a view to achieving this right progressively and on the basis of equal opportunity, they shall, in particular:
(a) Make primary education compulsory and available free to all;
(b) Encourage the development of different forms of secondary education, including general and vocational education, make them available and accessible to every child, and take appropriate measures such as the introduction of free education and offering financial assistance in case of need;
(c) Make higher education accessible to all on the basis of capacity by every appropriate means;
(d) Make educational and vocational information and guidance available and accessible to all children;
(e) Take measures to encourage regular attendance at schools and the reduction of drop-out rates.
Romani World: That all seems to pretty clear and comprehensive. But in terms the mandate of the European Commission during the last few years, which conventions and laws are specifcially relevant?
McNeill: Well some more detail on fundamental conventions are provided in the letter to the Commission and they provide a backdrop of some minimum standards related to education. Irrespective of what the European Union is demanding there already exists a broader concept and international standard of what is considered to be reasonable practice.
Just to recap, in the Czech republic, Hungary and Slovakia there is overt segregation in the state education system driven by ethnic discrimination. This system affects, and has affected, a lot of children. It is state managed. The system has been intensified with number of children within it increasing dramatically since 1989 (in excess of 400%) with the implicit agreement by the European Union acting through the European Commission.
As we discussed in our previous encounter, the European Commission should have ensured that certain pre-accession criteria are met. These criteria are roughly divided into three types, political, economic and the, so-called, chapters on the acquis. The acquis is simply a collection of core legislation which needs to be accepted and applied by the countries concerned. Where I say roughly divided, it is the case that they are somewhat difficult to separate in practice because the denial of education and training creates significant impacts on several activities including social, economic and financial relationships and performance.
Romani World: What are the main criteria where these governments and, indeed, the European Commission, have failed to perform?
McNeill: The political criteria cover the important areas of democracy and the rule of law, human rights and the protection of minorities, human rights and in particular non-discrimination. There has been, and continues to be, a clear general failure to provide equal opportunities in education and access to training. This is a direct and significant failure in the rule of law to protect minorities in the current practice of physical segregation of Roma school children within state institutions; this is a wholly repugnant state sponsored human rights abuse of innocent children.
Romani World: Just for emphasis, it is the case isn't it that the political criteria contain all of the provisions of the Amsterdam Treay concerning non-discrimination?
McNeill: Yes, that's right. Continuing on, the economic criteria were part of the so-called Copenhagen criteria and they relate to conditions for the existence of a functioning market economy. Sustained and serious distortions in the labour market have already resulted directly from the lack of training of Roma, a growing and significant proportion of the workforce as the mainstream populations decline. As a result the Roma-specific unemployment, or underemployment, has created a serious endemic level of structural economic under-performance of the economies concerned. This is constraining the functioning of the market economy, and re3ducing the capacity to cope with competitive pressure and market forces within the Union.
The losses to these three countries, related to this specific failure in human resources policy, is an under-performance of around Euro 8-9 billion each year.
The European Commission simply has not taken any of this into account. Indeed, the governments themselves seem to be oblivious to this fact. It is as if they accept this as the "price" paid for their sustaining policies of overt racial discrimination. But this price will rise to unsustainable levels. It will begin to bite during the next decade and then on out in the form of an inability of these economies to sustain the real values of services for their rapidly aging mainstream populations. Pensioners, almost all of whom are non-Roma, will be relying increasingly, on the productivity of the Roma, an increasing proportion of the workforce, and most of whom have no pensions as a direct result of the history of segregated education.
What is somewhat startling is that the European Commission has "negotiated" budget lines for funding for these countries post-accession. None of these relate to this fundmanetal structural under-performance related to the Roma. In other words the European Union will be pouring funds into countries whose governments, in the name of racism, are throwing away more that the European Union is providing. This is a serious issue in terms of the proper use of European public funds. I should add that in the last decade the European Commission also did absolutely nothing, in practical terms, to address this issue in spite of some Euro 12 billions spent on the Phare programme.
The quality of pre and post accession economic analysis from this standpoint, produced by the Commssion and the countries concerned, has been dismal. More plainly, this major economic issue has been completely ignored.
Romani World: This economic question seems to be almost as serious as the human rights issue we are discussing.
These Hungarian Romungro children of normal intelligence are condemned to segregation and denial of education in Europe of 2004 ! |
McNeill: I know of no example of human rights abuse which does not come at a heavy cost to society in general. It is achieved by politicians operating such systems out of sight and in silence. The Nazis, who pioneered such a system for Roma and Jewish children, followed this strategy as did Stalin with his Gulag. This segregated educational gulag is run by people with similar motivations and mind sets. This is denial of participatory democracy, a denial of freedom. Such governments do not respect the rights of all citizens to be free and happy. This is a primitive collectivism demostrably capable of the inhumane abuse of innocent children and their families.
The formation of the European Union, some say, was motivated by a desire to avoid such tyranny in the future. But the European Commission actively courts such governments, it makes no effective or substantive comment, it remains silent. This complicity reflects a clear decay in moral, ethical and political standards at the Commission. This is no way to develop a Union within which all people are respected and safe from institutional discrimination and abuse.
Romani World: Yes the political implications are worrying.
McNeill: Yes, they are. Just to cover the other relevant pre-accession criteria we come to the so-called acquis chapters including the free movement of persons. The current government policies sustain and contribute to the inability of Roma to move freely in response to demand for professional services and work as a result of denial of education and training; free movement is distorted by a structural failure in the provision of equal access to training and attainment of skills.
Under the chapter of social policy and employment, there is a significantly reduced feasible attainment in policy resulting directly from the erosion in manpower training and professional capabilities. There is a significant negative cross ethnic-gender impact of racial discrimination upon the status of equality between men and women.
Under the chapter of education and training we see a sustained and totally inadequate education and training provisions resulting from current policies of segregated educational denial founded on inappropriate professional standards and practice of selection and diversion of financial resources away from areas with most need.
Within the chapter on justice and home affairs there is a failure to prevent segregation on ethnic grounds within public institutions; there is a failure to uphold the rule of law within public administrations and in particular in the application of duties in central educational funding and local administrations.
And lastly, in the chapter on financial control, financial and budgetary provisions (including anti-corruption efforts), there is an ongoing failure to terminate the illicit diversion of public funds from areas of need created by associated actions of removal of Roma children from access to normal educational provisions and then not funding compensatory provisions in their place. Besides the admission that some of these funds go to supplement salaries of teachers the lack of transparency on the use of the bulk of these funds raises questions under the anti-corruption strand of financial control and budgetary provisions relating to national resources.
Romani World: We heard from some analysts that all that was required was for the Commission was to check that these countries transpose and ratify this legislation in their Parliaments. Is that so?
McNeill: No, this is not the case. This was the point I was making in our previous encounter. In all cases, there has been a failure to bring about the required administrative structural changes under each criterion listed so as to support transposed legislation. This failure remains evident in the ongoing and large scale segregation and educational denial facing Roma children which is managed entirely by state and local government staff within state and local government administrative structures.
For clarity, this issue of a requirement for institutional and structural adjustment is a specific condition covering all pre-accession criteria, political, economic and acquis, as a basis for providing an adequate level of trust amongst European Union member states for accession. This specific provision was laid down in the Madrid Council of 1995. Unfortunately, these countries and the European Commission have openly flaunted a disrespect for the very conditions essential to establish such trust.
Romani World: Thank you.
PIL - Public Interest Lawyers - One of the leading Human Rights practices in the United Kingdom. PIL have a track record of successful resolutions of human rights cases. PIL have won a series of high profile cases including the illegality of the Iraq war case against the British Government, the high profile Ghurka troops case relating to failure to pay adequate pensions brought against the British Ministry of Defense and the recent Ghost Ships case. (return to the top)
The full content of the letter to the Commission can be viewed at:
http://www.eu-romani.org/pil001.htm (return to the top)
Hector McNeill - Hector McNeill is a development economist. A Cambridge graduate with post graduations from Cambridge and Stanford Universities, Hector McNeill has been associated with voluntary service to low income communities for over 30 years. He has worked with the National Research Council, NASA, United Nations Food & Agricultural Organization, ICO, Manpower Services Commission, European Commission and the World Bank. He has been the projects coordinator of SEEL (Systems Engineering Economcis Lab) since 1984. He was a joint founder of ECRE and currently manages ECRE's Central European affairs in a voluntary capacity. (return to the top)
Euro 8-9 billion This estimate was first released in Document: ECRE(2003) 002; Updated 18th March 2003 A Report on an Investigation by EUROPEAN COMMITTEE ON ROMANI EMANCIPATION ECRE, European Economic Interest Grouping, THE IMPACT OF SPECIAL SCHOOLS ON THE ROMA IN CENTRAL EUROPE, A case of wilful criminal neglect & professional incompetence, Brussels, 26 February 2003. These calculations were based on so-called highest likelihood estimates (HLE) of population and per capita income levels. This section of the report will be released as a separate report by SEEL in March 2004. The table from the original ECRE report, showing distributions of Roma and non-Roma populations with time in Central Europe 2000-2050 is shown below. Please note: SEEL research suggests that these figures are under-estimates of the true numbers of Roma in 2000 and 2010. On the other hand, SEEL argues that the growth rate of 2.00% is now too high as a result of changes in fertility. Overall the out-dated ECRE table below provides a guide to relative population trends only.
Population projections for whole countries and Roma
Highest Likelihood Estimate based upon an upper limit of Roma
natural growth rate of 2.00% pa (Source: GeoHive & SEEL)
| Year |
2000 |
2010 |
2020 |
2030 |
2040 |
2050 |
| Czech rep |
10.2 |
10.2 |
9.9 |
9.4 |
8.7 |
8.0 |
| Roma pop |
0.36 |
0.43 |
0.51 |
0.61 |
0.74 |
0.87 |
| % Roma |
3.5% |
4.2% |
5.1% |
6.5% |
8.5% |
10.9% |
| Hungary |
10.1 |
9.8 |
9.5 |
9.0 |
8.5 |
7.8 |
| Roma pop |
0.61 |
0.73 |
0.88 |
1.06 |
1.27 |
1.53 |
| % Roma |
6.0% |
7.5% |
9.3% |
12.1% |
14.9% |
19.62% |
| Slovakia |
5.4 |
5.5 |
5.5 |
5.3 |
5.1 |
4.8 |
| Roma pop |
0.61 |
0.73 |
0.88 |
1.06 |
1.27 |
1.53 |
| % Roma |
11.3% |
13.3% |
16.0% |
20.0% |
24.9% |
31.9% |
2000 baseline established on basis of natural growth estimates from 1994 figures.
The result (subject to revision) is an increase in the percentage of Roma in the Czech republic of from 3.5% in 2000 to some 6.5% in 2030 and 10.9% by 2050. In the case of Hungary these percentages rise from 6% in 2000 to 12.1% in 2030 and 19.6% by 2050. In the Slovak republic these percentages rise from 11.3% in 2000, to 20.5% in 2030 and 31.88% in 2050. Between 2000 and 2030 the total Roma population is likely to rise from some 1.67 million to 2,73 million and to around 3.93 million by 2050, a 235% increase in numbers. (return to the top)
Phare programme European Union funding of majority population initiatives
The first financing vehicle of the European Union, in the countries where Roma are a significant minority, was the Phare programme. Between 1990-1994 the Phare programme allocated some 4,200 million Euro (4.2 billion Euro) to mainstream sector programmes (see footnote 1). Between 1994-1999, this budget was increased to 6,693 million Euro (6.693 billion Euro). Up to accession a final allocation of 1.500 million was made. Therefore during the last decade the EU has allocated some 12,393 million Euro (Euro 12.4 billion) to mainstream sector programmes in central & eastern Europe.
Mainstream sector programmes, because of the economic and social exclusion of the majority of the Roma population, do not have any substantive direct economic impact upon the Roma. Indeed, in most cases, such programmes do not consider the Roma to be direct beneficiaries. On the other hand such programmes do consider the majority populations, in these countries, to be direct beneficiaries.
Therefore, the majority of these funds have not benefited the Roma in terms of their economic and social development.
European Union funding of Roma initiatives
During the same period, 1990 through 2001, the European Union dedicated some Euro 44 million to specific Roma initiatives in the Czech republic, Hungary and Slovakia. Overall, for all accession countries the total comes to some Euro 57 million (EU support for Roma Communites in central & Eastern Europe, May 2002)Therefore the contribution of EU funding for specific Roma initiatives has been around 0.45% of the total outlays. That is around half of one percent of total outlays.
The European Union's funding decifit of Roma initiatives
The Roma make up between 5%-10% of the populations in several candidate countries (average 7.5%). Therefore a more equitable allocation of EU funds to Roma economic development programmes, allowing for those countries where Roma are insignificant in numeric terms, would have been expected to have been something of the order of 4% of the total allocations, or at least around 500 million Euros. In other words, the Roma have been allocated something like 11% of the funding they might justify on the basis of their population numbers. This inequality of treatment of the Roma, by European Commission funding, is notable. After a decade of European Union funding of economic development activities in central and eastern Europe, there has been a failure to address the bias which is inherent in the national mainstream programmes. As a result, assistance to the Roma has been deficient. (return to the top)
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