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Summary: A compilation of extracts featuring child-rights issues from the reports submitted to the first Universal Periodic Review. There are extracts from the 'National Report', the 'Compilation of UN Information' and the 'Summary of Stakeholder's Information'. Also included is the final report and the list of accepted and rejected recommendations. Romania – 15th Session – 2012 Scroll to: National Report (Read about the first cycle review) National report 10. Concerning recommendations made as regards discrimination in general and the discrimination against Roma in particular (recommendations 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11) and given the developments which took place since the last evaluation and the mid-term report presented in 2010, the following are to be stressed. 13. School segregation of Roma children is prohibited by law (Order of the Ministry of Education, Research, Youth and Sports no. 1540 of 19 July 2007, published in the Official Journal no. 692 of 11 October 2007) and serious progress was registered in this field, especially through several projects funded by the European Commission. Among the ESF projects initiated by the NGO Romani CRISS Association (Roma Center for Social Intervention and Studies) in partnership with the Ministry of Education, Research, Youth and Sports (MERYS), we mention the on-going project “Strategic steps for the improvement of the access to education of Roma children”, among its objectives being the development of desegregation plans in 90 schools of 4 regions of the country (north –west, centre, south-east and Bucharest) for a period of 3 years with a view to implement the Methodology of the aforementioned order of MERYS. 14. In terms of education, there is a special initiative of the National Agency for Roma referring to the enactment of a Governmental Decision regarding the approval of school reserved seats for university education, school year 2010-2011. According to this, the school reserved seats were increased by 30 Ph.D. scholarships and 10 Master's degree scholarships, specially designated to Roma’ higher education graduates. They also benefit of material support and trainings within European institutions. All the above was possible by implementing a strategic structural project “Building and implementing an innovative interdisciplinary doctoral program related to Roma issues”, financed through ESF – OPHRD 2007-2013. The value of the program is 5 mil Euros. 15. The National Agency for Roma (NAR) has continued to pay special attention to the Roma health mediators. Since 2011, the Agency became the partner of the Council of Europe in implementing the European Training Program for Roma Mediators - ROMED Program. The program initiated by the Council of Europe in Romania is part of the Declaration adopted in Strasbourg on 20 October 2010. 16. The number of Roma school mediators trained is 923, of which 56 persons were trained during the summer of 2012. Other 220 school mediators were trained by the Council of Europe during the summer of 2012 within the ROMED Program. During the school year 2011–2012, the number of school mediators employed at county level is of 437 school mediators. The number of school inspectors for Roma employed at national level is of 17 Roma inspectors out of 42 existing at the level of each county school inspectorate. In the period 1999–2012, the number of teachers having benefitted from Romani language courses is of 1.150, out of which 51 in the summer of 2012. For the school year 2012–2013, the number of seats reserved in universities for the Roma candidates is of 555. 39. By Order no. 1540/19 July 2007 on forbidding school segregation of Roma children and for the approval of the Methodology for the prevention and elimination of school segregation for Roma children, it was stated that the County School Inspectorates are charged with reporting annually on the state of education and quality education. In a separate section, they have to report on the results in implementing plans to eliminate segregation, violation of the normative act attracting contraventional, civil liability or criminal laws in force. Prevention and elimination of school segregation phenomenon is an imperative condition for implementing the principles of inclusive school. In terms of other fundamental rights of children in Romania an interdependent network of state institutions is developed, each with clearly defined attributions on each child’s fundamental right. 47. During 10–12 November 2010, the project “Am I different? I am talented!” was held in Bucharest within the Hospital for Infectious Diseases “Victor Babes” and it aimed to promote the principles of equal opportunities and non-discrimination and the rights of the HIV-positive youngster/children. The overall objective of the project was to inform 60 children, youngsters and the personnel of the hospital regarding the principle of equal opportunities, elements to prevent and combat discrimination and promote the knowledge and understanding by youngsters, doctors, nurses, psychologists of the right of not being discriminated, of child’s rights, of certain situations which constitute discrimination deeds. 57. According to the Order of the Minister of Justice C/433/2010, compulsory minimum standards have been set out related to conditions of accommodation of the convicted persons, as follows: for every person deprived of liberty categorized in the closed and maximum security prison regime, as well as for minors, young people, people on remand and convicted whose enforcement regime has not yet been settled should be provided with 4 m2; for every person deprived of liberty categorized in the half-open and open prison regime provisions should ensure 6 m3 of air. 65. As far as the trafficking of children is concerned, which is directly linked to the exploitation of children and even more, to the sexual exploitation thereof, the Directive 2011/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 April 2011 on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting was adopted and has as deadline for its transposition into domestic legislation 6 April 2013. 91. As concerns recommendations 14–17, regarding the respect for each child’s right to identity, the national legislation states clearly obligations and attributions for each local authority as well as procedures to be followed in case of a child is not registered immediately after birth. 92. For the registration of Romanian citizens of Roma minority, the public community local services for person’s record acted either on the basis of projects approved at county level, or by implementing PHARE projects, of which we give some examples: the Alba county implemented the project "I have documents, therefore I exist", providing assistance for the Romanian citizens from the Roma ethnic community in order to their legal registration; county and local authorities from the Bacau county in cooperation with Onesti subsidiary of the NGO Roma Party - Pro Europe took some measures for counseling regarding the need and legal obligation to obtain and keep the civil status certificates and the identity documents. Also they were involved in the project called "And we integrate" to improve the situation of Roma persons; In the county of Brasov a Partnership Agreement between the Braşov Association for Community Partnership and the Directorate for Persons Record of Brasov county was signed, in order to implement the project "I am a citizen, I have rights", with the financial support of Open Society Institute – Budapest; the project "Kon Shem Me", Ruhama in partnership with Social Administration from Council of Oradea, facilitated obtaining civil status, property and identity documents for the Roma persons; in the county of Galati was carried out the project "They also are citizens of Galati County", financed by European funds, in partnership with the Galati Roma Alliance. 93. In order to facilitate Romanian citizens of Roma minority to obtain documents, public community services for person’s records together with police authorities organized campaigns with mobile station to take over the pictures and all documents necessary for issuance of identity documents. 94. Regarding children’s right in the area of education, there are some categories of students who encounter difficulties in exercising their right to quality education: children from remote rural areas, children coming from poor families and economically disadvantaged areas, Roma children, children with special educational needs: Children in remote areas - the distance to school and the bad road infrastructure might make transport to school difficult, especially during winter. For these situations, the Ministry for Education, Research, Youth and Sports (MERYS) offered school buses, providing free of charge transportation to school. Where this is not possible, children are offered boarding in school facilities in other localities. Children from very poor and remote areas - some schools encounter difficulties in finding qualified teachers and the turnover of the teaching staff is important. There has been a restructuring of the school network, through the development of strong schools, with good infrastructure and qualified teachers, which gather children from several smaller communities. In these cases, school buses have been provided. Many Roma children – who come from very poor families with a low level of education and usually with many children. These children often help their parents in the household, take care of their younger brothers or accompany their parents in season work, thus being absent from school. Because of their poor economic and social status, and, in some cases, also because of traditions related to the early marriages, they often drop out of school or do not continue their studies after 8th grade. 95. As for primary education, the program has as target group young people who have not finished primary education and are at least 4 years older than the normal age for this level of education. 96. With regard to lower secondary education, the Second Chance has as main objective to support a flexible model of school re-integration for lower secondary education which will combine basic education and vocational training and is targeting young people who are at least 14 years old, who have completed primary education, but have dropped out before finishing lower secondary education. 97. Subjects related to Roma culture are present in the new designed curriculum for the Second Chance programs and in the extension of the Second Chance program. The most recent data (2011–2012) collected at national level confirm the efficiency of the program considering the number of students who have been attending these courses (10,032 students) and the number of schools which have organized this program courses (332 schools). The disaggregated data are as following: primary education – 3,232 students; lower secondary education – 5,671 students. Children with special educational needs are enrolled either in special schools or in main schools, according to their type and level of disability. Children included in mainstream schools are supported by itinerant teachers. 98. The Ministry of Education, Research, Youth and Sports took action to diminish the school dropout rate and to enhance students’ schooling participation rate by means of the social and protection support programmes. 99. Regarding the respect for children rights in the context of the activity of Romanian Gendarmerie,it has to be mentioned thatthis institution develops several programs and measures aiming to limit the violence and abuses in domestic, social, educational and institutional environment, as well as certain projects aimed to enhance the level of knowledge and the applying of children rights, and the degree of training of its personnel for a better approach of the respective rights violation. 100. As for recommendation 15, taking into consideration the particular aspects met in the case of Romania, the measures adopted in order to prevent and combat child prostitution were considered as part of the whole legal framework concerning the protection and promotion of children rights. 101. Between the main national authorities at central and local level cooperation mechanisms were established which allowed the approval of all necessary legal, administrative and educative measures meant to ensure an adequate protection of children against any form of trafficking, including their own parents as well. 102. The 2007 Lanzarote Convention on the protection of children against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse was ratified by Romania by Law no. 252 from 14th of December 2010, published in the Romanian Official Journal no. 885 of 29 December 2010. Furthermore, Directive 2011/92/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011 on combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child pornography and replacing Council Framework Decision 2004/68/JHA was adopted. Romania participated in the negotiation process of the latter Directive, now being in the phase of transposing its provisions. The deadline for the transposition into domestic legislation is 18December 2013. 103. Government Decision no. 49/2010 approved a common methodology for the intervention in cases of children exploited or being at risk of being exploited through labour, children victims of trafficking in human beings and Romanian migrant children victims of other forms of violence found on the territory of other states. 104. With regard to recommendation 16, since 2004, Law no. 272/2004 concerning the protection and promotion of children rights specifically states in Article 90 that all physical punishment no matter which form is forbidden as well as any deprivation of the child of his/her rights which are meant to endanger his/her life, mental, spiritual, moral or social development, as well as his/her body integrity, physical or psychical health of the child within the family environment and in any institution which ensures their protection, care or education. 105. As for recommendation 17, the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the ILO Conventions No. 138 concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment and No. 182 concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour are translated within the Romanian national legislation, which has clear provisions regarding how the children rights should be promoted by all authorities, persons and institutions as well as how to protect a child against worst forms of labour. 106. In the same time, at national level significant campaigns that had as the main target group children between 15 and 17 years old (with a special attention to the girls), with a low level of education, from families with different problems (domestic violence, alcoholism, poverty) or from families with parents working abroad were developed at national level. 107. The most relevant successes of the campaign were the reduction of school dropout, the consolidation of a joined team anti-drug/anti-trafficking addressing in more efficient manner the respective social phenomena and the emphasis at the institutional level of the importance of the continuity of the staff involved in dealing with specific social problems. 113. Also, NCCD developed the following programs: „World Down Syndrome Day” - the events dedicated to this day took place for two days in 2011 in a project coordinated by the NCCD together with Down's Syndrome Association Bucharest and Special Olympics Foundation from Romania; "Training specialists from the Departments of adoption and post adoption regarding the non-discrimination of children difficult to adopt"- the project was conducted by NCCD in partnership with Romanian Office for Adoptions, in order to increase the number of adoptions for children in the category of "hardly adoptable" by preventing discriminatory attitudes against them; "Braille – Pay attention! Discrimination is not a joke" - the Braille Transcription of a booklet about discrimination was made for its distribution under the library practice to the Association of the Blind in Romania subsidiaries, branches and clubs, as well as in some special schools for visually impaired people. 116. In 2010, the Parliament voted Law no. 151/2010 concerning the integrative, specialised health, education and social services for persons with autistic spectrum disorders and associated mental health disorders. 118. The last years were marked by an intensive dialogue with the NGOs. A major priority outlined by the associations of parents with children diagnosed with Autistic Spectrum Disorders was identified as being the early detection and therapeutic interventions for the affected children. 119. The National Mental Health Centre and Anti-Drug in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour, Family and Social Protection and the Ministry of Education, Research, Youth and Sport have already elaborated a draft of the National Strategy for Children and Adolescents Mental Health 2013-2018, which was sent at the level of the Government. 120. Ensuring a higher quality of the mental health services represented also a concern in the last 3 years by organising several courses and training programs for the staff (the multidisciplinary teams) working in the 36 Mental Health Centres for adults and 16 Mental Health Centres for children all over the country (psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, nurses). 128. With regard to this issue and given also recommendation 29, in Romania, human rights education is fostered both in formal and non-formal education. As far as formal education comes into question, human rights education is part of the national curriculum, being included in the curricular area generically called “Man and Society”. 129. In parallel, human rights education and child’s rights education are studied as optional subjects, part of School Based Curriculum, ranging from the 1st to 12th grades. 130. Grounded in formal educational system, human rights education and child’s rights education are enhanced through non- formal educational programs, adapted to each studying cycle. In this respect, the Ministry of Education, Research, Youth and Sports: has involved schools, teachers and students in European projects specialized in human rights education/child’s rights education/ civic education, such as: Global Education, Global Teenager, Europe at school; has developed national programs, such as: The National Program of Education for Democratic Citizenship, Media and a high quality human rights education, Democracy and Tolerance – that aim to developstudents’ social and civic democratic skills necessary to youth's active participation to social life, to make students acknowledge and respect human rights, to develop a tolerant conduct stimulating mutual respect, understanding and cooperation, to accomplish social integration, to enable and support children’s and youth’ access to community actions and decisions with the view of promoting their rights, the democratic state laws and institutions, to make students undertake civic roles and responsibilities; has concluded partnerships with NGOs, Council of Europe structures in Romania, UN Agencies in Romania and implemented programs based on human rights education and child’s rights education; has stimulated the development of such programs at county and school level. 131. Regarding teachers’ training on human rights education and child’s rights education, it has been developed in an extensive manner by means of the in - service training, through: the training offers proposed by Teacher Training Houses (institutions specialized in training delivery and responsible with teachers’ in- service training) and the training modules/ sessions included in the extracurricular programs prior to their stage of implementation. 1. The Special Rapporteurs on the human rights of migrants and contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequence the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) and the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) encouraged Romania to consider ratifying the ICRMW. 4. CRC remained concerned that the Ombudsman Institution did not meet the Paris Principles. It recommended that Romania review status and effectiveness of the Ombudsman Institution. It also recommended that the Ombudsman Institution be equipped with the necessary resources to carry out its mandate in an effective and meaningful way. 5. Furthermore, CRC recommended that Romania establish an independent Ombudsman for children. 7. CRC encouraged Romania to implement the National Strategy for the protection and promotion of children’s rights (2008-2013), which should ensure that special attention is paid to children of vulnerable groups, including children living in poverty, Roma children, children with disabilities, children with HIV/AIDS and street children. Furthermore, It recommended that Romania ensure adequate budget allocations and follow-up and evaluation mechanisms for the full implementation of the National Strategy. 9. CRC urged Romania to take all measures to address those recommendations from the concluding observations of the previous report that have not yet, or not sufficiently been implemented. 12. CRC was concerned that Roma children, children with HIV/AIDS, children with disabilities, children victims of violence, children left behind by their parents and children benefiting from social protection measures experienced discrimination and stigmatization. It recommended that Romania ensure full protection against discrimination on any grounds, including by ensuring that cases of discrimination against children are addressed effectively, including with administrative, disciplinary and penal sanctions. 13. CRC was concerned that social stigmatization of children with disabilities persisted, preventing them from receiving necessary services. It recommended that Romania encourage the inclusion of children with disabilities in society and prevent discrimination against them. 15. Furthermore, CRC reiterated that law enforcement officers continued to employ ill-treatment, including threats and physical abuse, when coming in contact with children. It urged Romania to stop police violence against children and implement legislation prohibiting all forms of torture; investigate all allegations of torture and ill-treatment of children; ensure the inadmissibility of evidence obtained through the use of torture; and provide care, recovery, reintegration and compensation for victims. 18. CRC remained concerned at the high prevalence of abuse and neglect of children, including at home, and the lack of comprehensive national strategy in this regard. It recommended that Romania adopt a comprehensive strategy to prevent child abuse and neglect and establish mechanisms to monitor cases of sexual abuse, neglect, maltreatment or exploitation. 19. CRC was concerned that the practice of corporal punishment persisted at home, in schools and institutional settings despite prohibition of corporal punishment by law. and recommended that Romania intensify awareness-raising and public education campaigns to promote the use of alternative, non-violent forms of child-rearing. Furthermore, it recommended that Romania prohibit all forms of violence against children; prioritize prevention; and provide recovery and social reintegration services. 20. The Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences stated that some of the worst forms of child labour; the economic exploitation of children and other exploitative and slave-like situations persisted. She called for increased attention in favour of segments of the population who were already vulnerable to exploitation before the financial crisis, in particular impoverished children and their families, and children left behind by their parents who went abroad to find job opportunities. 21. CRC recommended that Romania implement and enforce laws and policies protecting children from economic exploitation, including child labour and begging, and monitor the situation of children involved in all forms of economic exploitation with the view to eliminate such practices. Furthermore, the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences encouraged Romania to consider child work in the streets as one of the worst forms of child labour. CRC recommended that Romania develop a strategy to address the root causes of children living in the street, define preventive and protective measures and ensure that street children attend school and provide them with health-care services, shelter and food. 22. The Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences recommended that Romania take measures to change the widespread public perception that child work is a tradition which is harmless by undertaking awareness-raising campaigns on various kinds of negative consequences resulting from the worst forms of child labour and economic exploitation of children, in particular in the rural areas. She also recommended that Romania design a comprehensive strategy for improving the efficacy of national and local institutions dealing with child labour. 23. CRC was concerned about the high number of sexually exploited children and the increased number of children trafficked from Romania to other States. It was also concerned that trafficked girl-victims of sexual exploitation were sometimes seen as criminals. CRC recommended that Romania consider such children, including those subjected to prostitution, as victims in need of recovery and reintegration and not as offenders. It also recommended that Romania provide such children with special protective measures to prevent victimization and re-victimization. 24. The Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences took note of information indicating that Romania continued to be a country of origin for human trafficking. She highlighted a decrease in trafficking for sexual exploitation but an increase in trafficking for forced labour. The number of prosecution of human trafficking also decreased. She recommended that Romania ensure effective implementation of anti-trafficking legislation and allocate funding for non-governmental organizations that deliver services to victims and for anti-trafficking prevention programmes.The Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants recommended that Romania ensure the implementation by law enforcement officials of legal provisions guaranteeing that assistance and protection provided to victims are not dependent on their cooperation in testifying against traffickers. 34. CRC recommended that Romania set up specific provisions in criminal law and procedure for the hearing of child victims of crime, including sexual exploitation and sexual abuse. 35. The Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants recommended that Romania guarantee the effective protection of witness and victims of trafficking in persons, sale of children, contemporary forms of slavery and forced labour as a key element for the successful investigation and prosecution of perpetrators. 38. While welcoming that the minimum age of criminal responsibility is higher than the internationally acceptable minimum, CRC was concerned that during investigation stage procedural rights of children were violated; children were often deprived of liberty in adult detention facilities and did not benefit from special programmes; there were few rehabilitation centres and penitentiaries for children in conflict with the law; and children deprived of liberty seldom had access to appropriate education services. It recommended that Romania improve the juvenile justice system, introduce specialized judges for children in all regions and apply child detention as a last resort measure and for the shortest possible period. 39. CRC was concerned at the extent of non-registration of births, which disproportionally affected Roma children, street children, new born children abandoned in hospitals and children born in the home and other settings. It was also concerned at the unduly long procedure of late registration of births. Furthermore, It noted the rise in the number of undocumented children. 40. CRC recommended that Romania extend its support to families, including by reinforcing the capacity of public services for social assistance and improving the availability of day care services. It also recommended supporting families at risk of separation, preventing abandonment of children and strengthening parenting capacities and the overall climate of child-rearing. 41. UNICEF stated that while Romania had more than halved the number of children in residential care in 2010, institutionalization increased slightly in 2011 because more families fell into extreme poverty and the budget for foster care was reduced. CRC recommended that Romania promote foster care as a form of alternative care and ensure the protection of children’s rights in alternative care institutions. 46. CRC was concerned that children were particularly vulnerable to poverty; and that the poverty risk among the Roma was higher than for the majority population. It recommended that Romania intensify support programmes for children in need, particularly regarding nutrition, clothing, schooling and housing. It also recommended the development of policy frameworks to address the complex situation of Roma children and their families. 48. CRC was concerned that forced evictions of Roma families with children had been carried out without providing alternative lodging or adequate compensation. It recommended that Romania provide adequate compensation or alternative housing in case of forced evictions, with special attention to young children and their families. 50. CRC was concerned about inequalities in access to health services, especially in rural areas and for the Roma, and about inadequate conditions of health facilities in rural areas. It recommended that Romania: address inequalities in access to health services through a coordinated approach across all government departments; ensure greater coordination between health policies and those aimed at reducing income inequality and poverty; and improve sanitation and quality of care in health facilities located in deprived areas. 51. CRC remained concerned at the high rate of child mortality, particularly in rural areas, and at low birth weight, indicating malnutrition and anaemia among children. It noted that infant and child mortality and morbidity had been traced to deficiencies in mother and child nutrition, early weaning, parental neglect and low quality of medical services. It recommended that Romania address the causes of child and infant mortality and malnutrition. It also encouraged Romania to place more attention to prenatal and postnatal services and to develop training in parenting skills, particularly on breastfeeding, nutritious diet, proper hygiene, and early childhood development and survival. 52. CRC was concerned that the proportion of young people, including adolescents, among those recently diagnosed with HIV/AIDS was high and that children affected by HIV/AIDS often experienced barriers in accessing health services. UNICEF reported that the rate of mother-to-child transmission of HIV increased in 2010 due to the fact that one third of HIV-positive mothers were not receiving either treatment or preventive care during pregnancy. 53. CRC was concerned at the use of harmful substances by adolescents and the increase in drug abuse in general, and among younger children in particular. It was also concerned about reported high teenage pregnancies and teenage abortions. 54. CRC was concerned that care and living conditions of mentally ill patients in institutions, including children, had not improved. It was also concerned that there were no psychiatric departments for children with mental disabilities and that children with mental disabilities are placed in adult institutions without supervision. 55. CRC was concerned that while education was compulsory and free, there were hidden costs related to education, including payments for school supplies, recreational activities, teaching materials and classroom renovation. It was also concerned that the quality of education varied across communities, with marked rural-urban disparities. 56. CRC was concerned about a decrease in enrolment in primary schools and an increase in the number of school dropouts among children from urban areas and Roma children. The Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequence recommended that Romania ensure that children complete their 10-year compulsory education, by taking concrete action to address the reasons behind non-completion of schooling, including cultural traditions and poverty, and to strengthen initiatives aimed at addressing the indirect costs of attending schools and the lack of school transportation in rural areas.She also recommended that Romania consider raising the minimum age for employment to 16 so as to make it coincide with the age for completion of compulsory education. 58. In 2012, the Office United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights reported that the Romanian Institute for Human Rights in partnership with the Ministry of Education, Research, Youth and Sports provided human rights training for both teachers/educators and pupils. She noted that the Romanian Institute for Human Rights held courses in human rights and the administration of justice for personnel of the Ministry of Administration and Interior. 59. CRC was concerned that children with disabilities were at risk of being abandoned and placed in residential care. It was also concerned about reports alleging violations against children with mental disabilities in institutions, and at the fact that those institutions were understaffed and that personnel lacked special training. Furthermore, It was further concerned that children with disabilities in institutions were not offered solutions for re-integration into the community. 60. CRC was concerned that children with disabilities experienced discrimination in accessing mainstream education. It noted that the majority of them did not attend any form of education, while of those who do, majority attend special schools. It recommended that Romania invest considerable resources to ensure the right of children with disabilities to an inclusive education. 61. CRC recommended that Romania develop a comprehensive national policy on disability, promoting the full enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all children with disabilities, and their full participation in society. It also recommended the implementation of legislation providing protection for persons with disabilities as well as programmes and services for children with disabilities. 62. CRC noted with satisfaction the opportunities created for minorities in law and in practice to interact with courts and local public administration in their mother tongue; broadcast their own TV and radio programmes and receive funding for projects on education, culture, and youth programmes. It also noted that Romania ensured in practice that education conducted completely or partially in national minorities’ mother tongue, or the study of their mother tongue is available for children belonging to a number of minorities. 66. CERD recommended that the Government ensure access to education to the Roma children; facilitate access by the Roma to housing, including by avoiding unlawful expropriation and forced evictions without offering alternative accommodation; guarantee access by the Roma to health care and social services; facilitate the entry of the Roma to the labour market; and combat their discrimination in access to public places and services. Furthermore, The ILO Committee of Experts encouraged Romania to further equal opportunities for the Roma community and to promote their access to employment and vocational training. It asked Romania to ensure that the progress made in promoting equal opportunities of members of the Roma community in employment and occupation are not undermined due to a lack of resources or appropriate funding. 67. CRC was concerned at the high number of children left behind by parents migrating for work abroad. It also noted an increased incidence of unaccompanied or separated Romanian children abroad. It recommended that Romania: inform potential migrants of the child protection measures available; support children left behind by migrating parents; and ensure that decisions for return and reintegration of unaccompanied Romanian minors are carried out with consideration of the best interests of the child. The Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants recommended that Romania continue improving measures for the identification and support of children left behind by migrating parents, including by considering the increase in resources available to social assistance services belonging to municipalities, with a view to strengthening their role, particularly in the early identification of risk situations affecting children left behind. 69. The Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants noted that irregular migrant children who were unaccompanied were usually escorted to welfare centres where they were accommodated until they were granted refugee status or temporary rights to stay or return to their families. He recommended establishing centres for hosting separated and unaccompanied children, regardless of their immigration status, where they could be provided with specialized assistance, according to their protection needs, by staff and interpreters. 73. UNHCR stated that Romania did not have any procedure in place to determine statelessness, which undermines its ability to meet its protection obligations towards stateless persons in its territory as set out in the 1954 Convention. It recommended that Romania (a) establish a statelessness determination procedure and (b) reform the Citizenship Law to include a safeguard against statelessness, which provides that children born in the territory, who would otherwise be stateless, acquire Romanian nationality. Summary of stakeholders' information 2. Save the Children- Romania (SC-R) recommended that Romania establish an Ombudsman for Children. 7. CoE-Commissioner noted with regret that the Roma remained marginalised and socially excluded, and faced strong prejudices among the majority of the population. JS3 reported about segregation of the Roma in hospitals, refusal to provide them with medical treatment and negligence towards Roma patients. Furthermore, JS1 referred to reported cases of segregation against Roma children in the formal educational system. It stated that classes and even schools existed de facto only for Roma children, with lower quality of education compared to formal schools. It noted the difficulty to integrate Roma children in regular schools after they had been taught in separate schools.The Society for Threatened People (STP)and CoE-Commissioner made similar observations. 12. JS2 reported about discrimination against and segregation of women living with HIV in hospitals and cases of breach of confidentiality of patients’ HIV positive status by medical personnel. JS2 highlighted the denial or hindrance of access to medical assistance during childbirth for women living with HIV and failure by some healthcare providers to take special measures to prevent HIV transmission from mother to child.The occurrences of refusal of gynecological consultations, post-abortion health care or the performance of abortion to women with HIV positive status by public health care resulted in cases of patients not treating their diseases, resorting to self-medication or unsafe abortion or not declaring their HIV status when accessing health care services. JS1 recommended that Romania raise public awareness to combat all forms of discrimination against people living with HIV / AIDS, primarily addressing the communities in rural areas. 17. While noting the prohibition of corporal punishment of children in all settings, the Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children (GIEACP) referred to research findings indicating that children continued to be physically punished. Similarly, SC-R referred to research findings indicating the high occurrence of psychological and physical abuse of children in their families. GIEACP expressed hope that during the review of 2013 the recommendation will be made to Romania to strengthen the full implementation of legislation on corporal punishment of children, including through awareness raising and education programmes, and appropriate complaints mechanisms. SC-R recommended that Romania enforce legislation on child protection against violence and ensure special procedures and standards for identifying, registering, referring and monitoring cases of violence against children. SC-R also recommended that Romania raise awareness about positive educational methods for parents and teachers, including for tackling conflict situations within the family, at school and in the community. 18. The Council of Europe (CoE) highlighted the conclusion of European Committee of Social Rights (CoE-ECSR) stating that the simple possession of child pornography is not a criminal offence. 19. As CoE noted, CoE-ECSR stated that light work for children under the age of 15 was not defined in legislation and that the prohibition of employment under the age of 15 was not guaranteed in practice owing to ineffective application of legislation. 23. CoE-GRETA highlighted shortcomings in the institutional and procedural framework for the repatriation and return of victims of trafficking. CoE-GRETA urged Romania to ensure that returns take due regard of the victims’ rights, safety and dignity, and in the case of children, take into consideration their best interest. 24. SC-R stated that the percentage of children among victims of human trafficking had grown in 2011 and that the majority were victims of sexual exploitation. While girls remained more vulnerable, an increase in the number of trafficked boys was noticed. CoE-ECSR stated that it was not established that measures taken to combat trafficking and sexual exploitation of children were sufficient. CoE-GRETA considered that Romania should strengthen the prevention of trafficking in children. SC-R recommended that Romania develop support services for child victims of trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation, including systematic medical, psychological, social and legal assistance. SC-R also recommended ensuring that child victims not be prosecuted for prostitution. 28. CoE-GRETA welcomed the introduction of a legal provision concerning the non-punishment of victims of trafficking for their involvement in unlawful activities to the extent that they had been compelled to do so. However, ERRC reported that despite legal provisions emphasising non-prosecution of trafficking victims, it was common among law enforcement personnel to bring criminal charges against them to “promote” their cooperation. ERRC recommended that Romania ensure that trafficking victims are not prosecuted. CoE-GRETA urged Romania to reinforce measures to protect victims of trafficking, with due regard to the special situation of child victims, regardless of whether or not they had agreed to participate in criminal proceedings. 31. SC-R stated that thousands of children are not registered at birth. 32. ERRC stated that Roma children were overrepresented in the state- care institutions due to various factors, including poverty and discrimination. ERRC stated that some Roma children were subjected to physical abuse, ill-treatment and various forms of discrimination in state-care institutions. It observed that they also experienced discrimination outside institutions, in access to public services, such as education and health care. A large number of Roma children in institutions were reportedly enrolled in special education. ERRC recommended that Romania ensure that Roma children were not removed from their families on the basis of poverty or material concerns. Furthermore, SC-R recommended that Romania prevent the institutionalisation of children, including by offering support services to families and by investing in foster care. 36. JS1 was concerned about the level of the extreme poverty, which resulted in an increase in migration. It noted that the Roma minority was particularly affected by extreme poverty. SC-R considered that measures taken by the authorities to address the impact of poverty on children were insufficient and that there was no national action plan to address child poverty. SC-R recommended that Romania adopt measures to combat child poverty. 46. CoE-ECSR stated that infant and maternal mortality rates were high and that measures taken to reduce them were inadequate. SC-R stated that malnutrition or poor health of mothers; extreme poverty and lack of adequate access to health care were among the causes of child mortality. SC-R recommended that Romania implement large scale programmes for the prevention of child malnutrition and child mortality, with a focus on the most disadvantaged communities.Additionally, SC-R recommended that Romania develop child mental health services, including the community health centers and enhance the access to them, including by increasing the number of specialists in the field and covering the costs of psychotherapy services through the public health insurance system and developing periodic screening for early diagnosis and intervention in the cases of children dealing with mental and behavioral disorders. 48. JS1 reported that early pregnancies among 15 to 19 year-old girls were frequent, particularly among Roma girls. SIRDO also referred to a large number of registered childbearing among girls. It highlighted lack of education concerning health and contraceptive measures for young girls. JS2 recommended that Romania take measures to prevent teenage pregnancy and ensure the provision of services to support teenage mothers to continue their education. JS2 recommended that Romania make a wide array of family planning methods available and affordable, provide mandatory sexual education in schools, and increase knowledge about family planning among women and men. 49. Noting the large number of people living with HIV/AIDS, JS1 recommended that Romania improve its policy and programmatic responses to prevent HIV/AIDS, especially by strengthening its commitment to ensure universal access to prevention, treatment, care, and effective interventions for people living with HIV/AIDS, particularly for school-age children. JS2 recommended that Romania adopt national strategies on HIV/AIDS and sexual and reproductive health and rights. 50. JS1 noted with satisfaction the adoption, in 2011, of the new Law on education, which aims at improving the quality of education and increasing the state budget allocations for education. However, SC-R stated that the education system was severely underfinanced, and that the implementation of the Law on education was hampered by the Government’s decision to postpone until 2014 the application of the article guaranteeing that education should receive 6% of the GDP. SC-R pointed that although compulsory education is free of charge, parents have to pay for various costs, including supplementary tuition, transport, refurbishment and maintenance of the school-buildings and sport equipment. According to SC-R, these “hidden costs” created clear disadvantages for children coming from poorer families, and could even cause non-enrolment or school dropout. Moreover, JS1 stated that the overall quality of education was hampered by corruption. Some payments and personal relationships are sometimes required to pass an exam and enter university. SC-R recommended that Romania allocate and spend at least 6 percent of GDP for education and invest in increasing access to quality education for all children. 51. JS1 stated that the drop-out rate had increased in recent years, especially at the secondary level, and mostly affected Roma communities. 52. CoE-Commissioner expressed concern that a large number of Roma children did not attend schools. STP stated that the number of illiterates, school drop outs and those who had never visited school was higher among Roma women. JS1 referred to testimonies of Roma children, who felt discriminated, intimidated and harassed by teachers and peers. 53. CoE referred to the recommendations of the CoE’s Committee of Ministers (CoE-CoM)that Romania: a) develop comprehensive educational models for teaching in/of Tatar and Turkish; (b) provide training for a sufficient number of teachers for education in or of German, Hungarian, Turkish and Ukrainian; c) continue to develop a comprehensive offer of teaching in or of Romani and d) reconsider the thresholds for the official use of minority languages in administration. 54. JS1 stated that the cultural diversity in the education system was not promoted. JS1 reported that the history and culture of the Roma and Hungarian minorities were not taught in schools, and very few universities taught in Roma and Hungarian.JS1 recommended that Romania integrate Roma and Hungarian cultures in the school curricula and promote the establishment of Hungarian-taught courses at the university level. Likewise, CoE-Commissioner stated that teaching Roma history is of the utmost importance for increasing understanding and tolerance. Therefore, CoE-Commissioner hoped for enhanced teaching of Roma history in schools and he particularly encouraged the systematic use of the CoE Fact sheets on Roma history in schools. 55. JS1 noted a widespread sense of stigma still associated with persons with disabilities, which caused their isolation and/or abandonment. He remarked that this was particularly evident in the school context. 56. SC-R stated that children with disabilities still faced problems in accessing quality and inclusive education, as public schools were poorly prepared to receive them, and the number of support teachers remained low. Additionally, JS1 noted that children with disabilities were often placed in specialized institutions, without exploring the possibility of their integration into the regular school system. Similarly, CoE reported that the number of children with disabilities attending special education was high and that a considerable number of children with disabilities were left without education. JS1 recommended that Romania ensure that children with disabilities were integrated in the school system and received adequate support. 60. SC-R referred to information indicating that a large number of Roma children were undernourished and were confronted with problems in accessing education. SC-R recommended that Romania improve the access of Roma children to education, health services and social protection and develop a network of health and social mediators for Roma communities. Accepted and Rejected Recommendations - To follow
Tuesday 22nd January 2013 - 9.00 a.m. - 12.30 p.m
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Accepted and Rejected Recommendations