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Roma children. In 1997, the R-Mosty civic association initiated a campaign in Prague schools
on the subject of “Education for tolerance and against racism”. Many talks on the subject have
been given in schools.
55.
The Prague Human Rights Documentation Centre keeps watch over the activities of
extreme right-wing movements, records racist crimes and informs the police. The European
Roma Centre, a regional non-governmental organization, has been conducting in-depth studies of
the various manifestations of racism and racial discrimination in the country and furnishes legal
aid to victims. The Centre has led an unremitting national and international campaign against
the building of the Ústi nad Labem wall and in November 1999 filed a complaint on behalf of
the inhabitants of Maticni Street against the town authorities.
56.
In June 1999, the Centre also filed a complaint with the Constitutional Court against the
municipality of the town of Ostrava and the Ministry of Education for segregating Roma
children in special schools for the mentally handicapped.
II. CONSULTATIONS IN ROMANIA
57.
The Special Rapporteur visited Romania from 23 to 26 September 1999. In Bucharest he
had conversations with senior officials and civil servants, including Mr. Péter Eckstein-Kovacs,
Minister for national minorities, Prime Minister’s Office, Mr. Jósef Kötó, Secretary of State,
Ministry of Education, Mr. Cristian Diaconescu, Director of Legal and Consular Affairs,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ms. Romanita Vrinceanu, magistrate, Deputy General Secretary,
Ministry of Justice, General Lazar Carjan, Chief, General Police Inspectorate, Ministry of the
Interior, and Mr. Vasile-Gabriel Nita, Director, Police Research Institute on delinquency and
prevention. The Special Rapporteur also met representatives of national human rights
institutions, including Mr. Martian Dan, President of the Parliamentary Commission on Human
Rights, Religious Denominations and National Minority Groups of the Romanian Parliament,
and Mr. Mircea Moldovan and Ms. Ruxandra Sabareanu, deputies of the Ombudsman. He had
working meetings with Mr. Winston Temple, Resident Representative of the United Nations
Development Programme and Mr. Ushiro Tsuchida, representative of the Office of the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. In Bucharest the Special Rapporteur met the
representatives of several Roma community associations and non-governmental organizations.
He also visited Mr. Florin Cioaba, King of all Roma, in his residence of Sibiu in central
Romania. The Rapporteur also spoke to representatives of Roma community associations and
organizations for the defence of human rights or the rights of the Roma in particular. He visited
the Romanian Institute for Human Rights where he talked to the director, Ms. Irina Moroianu
Zlatescu and her team. A list of the main persons whom the Special Rapporteur met is given in
the annex to this report.
58.
The Special Rapporteur thanks the Romanian Government for its welcome and the
cooperation it furnished during his visit to Romania. He is also grateful to the representatives of
UNDP and UNHCR for their logistical support and the information they provided. He thanks
the representatives of national human rights institutions and the representatives of Roma
community associations and non-governmental organizations who were kind enough to meet him
and supply information.