ROMANIA: Government submits progress report on UPR recommendations

Summary: The government of Romania recently submitted a mid-term UPR report, which documented their implementation progress on recommendations they accepted during their review. CRIN has highlighted the government's response to children's rights recommendations accepted.


What is a mid-term report?

States are encouraged to voluntarily submit update reports on the steps they are taking to implement the recommendations made to them during their reviews.

In addition to posting the full mid-term report (see above), CRIN has extracted the children's rights recommendations accepted by Romania, together with the government's response on how they are implementing the recommendations.


Implementation progress on accepted recommendations

The government of Romania commented on the following accepted recommendations:

8. To strengthen its efforts in bringing more equity in ensuring rights and opportunities of rural communities especially, ethnic minorities, women and children who live in those areas.

The 2007-2013 National Strategy for Implementing Measures on Preventing and Combating Discrimination aims at ensuring equal rights for all persons, irrespective of their ethnicity, gender, age or origin. Based on the conclusions of a recent governmental survey, the situation of women in the rural areas still needs to be addressed more vigorously, in the context of the general awareness-raising measures on women's rights. As part of its efforts to re-launch the education in the rural areas, Ministry of Education, Research and Youth implemented a programme, in partnership with the World Bank, for the period 2003-2009, with the purpose to ensure the adequate sanitary conditions in schools from disadvantaged areas and to provide for furniture and rehabilitation works in 1500 schools from the undergraduate educational system.

9. To ensure that people living with HIV/AIDS, especially children, can fully enjoy their human rights through, among others, equitable access to basic services and education; to provide effective sanctions for discrimination against people living with HIV, to ban mandatory HIV testing as a condition of employment and to ensure that persons living with HIV are not arbitrarily prevented from working or attending vocational schools; to continue to take further action to combat the prevalence of HIV/AIDS among children and discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS by providing adequate treatment and information.

The Governmental Ordinance nr. 37/2000 on the prevention and sanctioning of all forms of discrimination, as subsequently modified, offers a comprehensive definition of the concept of "discrimination", as any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, nationality, ethnic origin, language, religion, social origin, beliefs, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, chronic non-infectious disease, HIV infection, appurtenance to a disadvantaged category or any other criteria which have the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life. The Ordinance prohibits and sanctions discriminatory acts committed by natural and legal persons, in all their forms (direct discrimination, indirect discrimination, harassment, multiple discrimination, order to discriminate and victimization). According to the Labour Code, a person can get employed only based on a medical certificate, which indicates that the respective person is capable to carry out the required work. Hence, there is no obligation for HIV testing upon getting hired. Romania implemented a national program focused on combating the HIV/AIDS and on improving the medical assistance provided to people diagnosed with HIV/AIDS.

11. To continue to work on improving the situation of children's rights, in particular Roma children's right in the areas of health care and education and to work on the negative attitudes and prejudices by the general public, in political discourse and media presentations, on police brutality and discrimination and to raise awareness of the need to improve the overall situation of human rights; and to guarantee better the rights of the child, especially the rights to civil registry, education, health and protection against violence.

Although the main objectives of child protection reforms have already been achieved, changes are still ongoing as part of the adaptation process to the realities of contemporary Romanian society and to the best interests and needs of the Romanian children. Given the high priority of children's rights on the national political agenda since 1990, the general public and the authorities have become more educated on child-related topics. Nevertheless, the Government needs to continue its efforts in the area. No complaint concerning ill-treatment or abuse of children by Police officers was referred to the Police from 2007 on. The children's access to medical and recovery services is guaranteed, without any discrimination, by the State and the related costs are borne by the National Fund for Health Social Insurances and the state budget. All children up to 18 years old benefit from free insurance, in the absence of any contribution to the National Fund for Health Social Insurances. For re For reducing phenomena such as school dropout and absenteeism, the Ministry of Education, Research and Youth has developed educational programmes for supporting school participation throughout the entire undergraduate system, such as: supporting the education of disadvantaged groups (PHARE Programme "Access to education for disadvantaged groups", "The Second Chance" Programme); offering financial support and school transport (Programmes: "Money for high school", EURO 200, "Roll and Milk"); the rehabilitation of the educational facilities and the building of new educational units (kindergartens, school campus), the programme for relaunching school education.

12. To intensify efforts to implement the recommendations made by the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography and the Special Rapporteur on human rights of migrants.

The national legislation covers any form of violence, abuse (including of sexual nature), bad treatment or negligence targeting children. Based on the existing legislative framework, the Government also adopted the National Action Plan for preventing and fighting sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children for commercial purposes. The efforts of the authorities focussed, inter alia, on supporting and developing specialized services accessible to child victims, including the creation of specialized emergency and social rehabilitation centres.

Romania has assumed an active role within the regional and international networks which fight against sexual abuse of children and young people, as well as against sale and trafficking for commercial purposes.

The authorities also developed awareness-raising programmes and campaigns addressed to the general public. Information was also provided in the educational units (e.g. meeting with pupils, debates on personal safety etc). Partnership protocols have been closed between the county police inspectorates, other responsible institutions and the NGOs. The 2007 Lanzarote Convention on the protection of children against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse is approaching the final stage of ratification, having already been submitted to the Parliament.

13. To, inter alia, expressly prohibit corporal punishment in the home, school and institutions and to promote alternative methods of discipline.

The 2004 law on the protection and promotion of the rights of the child expressly prohibits corporal punishment of children in any circumstances. Any disciplinary actions applied in schools must be taken in observance of the child's dignity. Physical punishments or those affecting the child's physical and mental development or emotional state are forbidden.

14. To take effective steps to ensure the implementation 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.

Romania took concrete steps to ensure the implementation of those conventions in the past, but has continued to work towards increasing the effectiveness of such measures. Relating to the implementation of the ILO Convention No. 182, the Government approved the Decision no. 867/14 August 2009 concerning the prohibition of dangerous forms of child labor, which also includes a list of such forms of child labor. This document lays out operational definitions for the concepts introduced by the ILO Convention No. 182, including criteria for indicating dangerous forms of child labor, as useful instruments for employers, experts in the field of child protection, law enforcement structures and civil society. The Decision is applicable to all employers from the formal sector, as well as from the informal sector, including NGOs, authorized natural persons, family associations and also individuals who are using child labor. Moreover, the Decision introduces a series of methodological approaches regarding the identification and the referral of children victims or children in risk.


Further Information

CRIN extracted all mentions of children's rights from Romania's UPR, including references in the pre-review reports submitted by the government, UN bodies, and also NGOs / NRHis. This report also details all the children's rights recommendations accepted and rejected by Romania.

The page includes children's rights extract reports for all States reviewed to date, CRIN's "Status of Children's Rights in the UPR" report, and much more information on the UPR process and how can NGOs can engage with it.

Including practical tips on reporting and lobbying, as well as follow-up methods. The guide is based on the findings of a comprehensive survey of experiences shared by NGOs, NHRIs, Ombudspersons, academic bodies, and so on.

pdf: http://www.crin.org/docs/Romania-Interim-report-en.pdf

Countries

Please note that these reports are hosted by CRIN as a resource for Child Rights campaigners, researchers and other interested parties. Unless otherwise stated, they are not the work of CRIN and their inclusion in our database does not necessarily signify endorsement or agreement with their content by CRIN.