A/HRC/4/9/Add.2 page 13 48. A 2002-2003 study by the Hungarian Helsinki Committee considered issues of racial discrimination against Roma in the criminal justice system and confirmed practices of racial profiling by the police. Research considered 1,147 court files and found discriminatory practices, notably in police stop and search policies. These findings suggest that the disproportionate numbers of Roma prison inmates may partly be attributed to discriminatory practices. Roma are only 5-6 per cent of the population, however, they are estimated at between 30 and 40 per cent of inmates. 49. Efforts by civil society groups to conduct anti-discrimination training for the judiciary are welcome. The activities of the Minority Ombudsman and the Hungarian Helsinki Committee to investigate possible discrimination in criminal justice have, however, been hampered due to the judiciary falling beyond the jurisdiction of the Minority Ombudsman, and public prosecutors commonly refusing to allow access to files. D. Poverty 50. The Roma in Hungary are disproportionately affected by severe poverty. A 2003 World Bank report states that 40.3 per cent of Romani households in Hungary live in absolute poverty compared to only 6.9 per cent of general Hungarian households, while Hungary’s 2004 Millennium Development Goals (MDG) report, Reducing Poverty and Social Exclusion, states that by the end of the 1990s, 62 per cent of Roma families lived on less than half the median income (p. 20). According to a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and International Labour Organization (ILO) survey in 2002, more than half of Roma children live in households which regularly go hungry. 51. The Independent Expert has established within her initial report (E/CN.4/2006/74, para. 64) that minority groups that face widespread discrimination or exclusion are much more likely than other groups to be impoverished. The poorest communities in almost any region tend to be minority communities that have been targets of longstanding discrimination, violence or exclusion. Mainstreamed and targeted efforts to reduce poverty are essential to efforts to promote the full range of civil, political, social and economic rights for minority communities. 52. Poverty as faced by the Roma in Hungary is both a cause and a manifestation of the diminished rights and opportunities available to the members of that community. Poverty in this context involves more than just a lack of income or a daily struggle for basic sustenance. Roma are generally less able to participate effectively in political decision-making or to access mechanisms of justice when their rights are violated. They suffer from unequal access to education, health care and employment. 53. Life expectancy rates are 60 years for Roma, compared to a national average of 72.3, while infant mortality rates are high. These are disparities which the Independent Expert considers to be a direct consequence of poverty. Furthermore a serious shortage of some 126 general medical practitioners in Roma areas, suggests that many may have little or no essential primary medical care services. Excluding Budapest, 18.6 per cent of Hungary’s Roma live in a settlement without a local doctor.