EDUCATION RIGHTS In his 2000 report, the Croatian Ombudsman noted the disturbing frequency of segregation, its roots in racial prejudice and its implications for further marginalization. Protests by the Deputy Ombudsman at governmental inaction to remedy this situation reportedly led to official calls for her removal.76 In April 2002, parents of 57 Roma children, assisted by the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC)77 filed a lawsuit in the municipal court claiming segregation in education on the basis of ethnicity. County officials responded by claiming that 200–300 lawsuits would soon be brought against Roma parents who refused to send their children to school.78 Two levels of courts determined that the lack of Croatian language competence of the children, rather than their racial or ethnic origin, was the reason for their segregation. Despite alleged intimidation,79 in December 2002, the families of 15 Roma children appealed to the Constitutional Court of Croatia, alleging that the segregation of Roma children violated constitutional rights to freedom from discrimination and the right to education. The case is still pending. In May 2003, the complainants, supported by two minority rights NGOs, lodged a pre-application letter with the European Court of Human Rights pending appeal to the Croatian Constitutional Court in May 2003. In this context, and in the face of the increasing attention the issue was gaining in the European institutions,80 the Croatian government recently adopted a National Programme for Roma, including promoting pre-school education of Roma children. Amnesty International has however expressed concern at reports that this programme will be insufficiently funded.81 The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child recommended that Croatia, ‘ensure the implementation of the National Programme for Roma, providing it with adequate human and financial resources and with periodic evaluation of its progress’.82 Case study 2 – Disputed textbook in Russia In June 2002, a Moscow-based NGO, the All-Russian Movement for Human Rights (MHR), filed a complaint with the Prosecutor General’s Office to undertake a criminal investigation into a textbook, The Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture. MHR alleged that the textbook, which was approved and recommended by the Coordination Council for interaction between the Education Ministry and the Russian Orthodox Church for use in public schools, incited ethnic hatred. The Prosecutor General’s Office forwarded the complaint to the Ostankino prosecutor’s office. A district prosecutor decided on 4 September 2002 not to launch a criminal investigation. The complainants reacted by appealing the refusal by the district prosecutor to the Meshchansky District Court. 61