E/CN.4/2000/16/Add.1 page 3 Introduction 1. Pursuant to Commission on Human Rights resolutions 1993/20 of 2 March 1993 and 1999/78 (III) of 28 April 1999, and with the agreement of the Governments concerned, the Special Rapporteur carried out a regional mission in Hungary, the Czech Republic and Romania, from 20 to 30 September 1999. This mission was motivated by the allegations the Special Rapporteur had received of systematic discrimination (particularly in education, employment and housing) against the Roma citizens of these countries and the frequent acts of violence against them by members of extreme right organizations and the police (E/CN.4/1999/15, paras. 80-87). The Special Rapporteur was particularly alarmed by the plan of the municipal council of the town of Ústi nad Labem in the Czech Republic (northern Bohemia) to build a wall down a street in order to separate Roma homes from those of the other inhabitants. 2. The endemic situation of racism and racial discrimination against the Roma in Central and Eastern Europe led as from 1997 to a mass exodus, particularly from the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Romania, to seek asylum in Germany, Belgium, Canada, France, Finland and the United Kingdom. In order to curb the mass arrivals of Roma, Canada and Finland then reintroduced entry visas for nationals of the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Romania, while the United Kingdom for its part threatened in September 1999 to reintroduce visas for nationals of the Czech Republic if no solution was found to the influx of Roma asylum-seekers. 3. As a result of the reintroduction of visas in some countries, combined with the fear that the situation of the Roma might prove an obstacle to joining the European Union, which would entail the need to meet EU criteria for human rights and protection of minorities, the Governments of central and eastern Europe have given the matter careful thought. With financial support from the European Union and the help of a number of initiatives by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting on Roma and Sinti Issues), ways are now being sought of improving the integration of the Roma in those countries. 4. The Special Rapporteur first visited the Czech Republic (20-22 September), then Romania (23-26 September) and finally Hungary (27-30 September). These countries were selected solely for illustrative and comparative purposes and owing to insufficient human and financial resources and time and not because the situation of the Roma there is more unusual than in other countries of the region, or even western Europe. The sections of this report follow the chronological order of the mission and not the alphabetical order of the countries visited. I. CONSULTATIONS IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC 5. During his visit to the Czech Republic (20-22 September), the Special Rapporteur met leading representatives of the Czech State in Prague, including Mr. Martin Palous, Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Pavel Tychetsky, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Legislative Council, Mr. Jaroslav Kopriva, Vice-Minister of the Interior, Mr. Alois Cihlar, Vice-Minister of Justice and Mr. Petr Uhl, Government Commissioner for Human Rights; he also spoke with Ms. Marie Benesova, Chief State Attorney. The Special Rapporteur held consultations with representatives of the municipal council of the towns of Ústi nad Labem and Brno and with representatives of non-governmental organizations. He also met representatives