Human Rights Council
Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review Fifteenth session
Geneva, 21 January–1 February 2013
National report submitted in accordance with paragraph 5 of the annex to Human Rights Council resolution 16/21
*Romania
* The present document has been reproduced as received. Its content does not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations.
General Assembly
Distr.: General 3 December 2012Original: English
I. Methodology and consultation process
1. The present report has been prepared in line with the guidance provided in the Human Rights Council resolution 5/1 and the General Guidelines for the Preparation of Information under the Universal Periodic Review, contained in document A/HRC/DEC/17/119. It focuses on the developments of the human rights situation in Romania since the last review and on the progress in the implementation of the recommendations received during the first UPR in 2008, given also the mid-term report submitted by Romania in 2010. Non-governmental organizations were invited to participate in the drafting of the report, in the framework of a consultative process. Their comments and observations were duly taken into account.
2. The information selected and compiled by the experts of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was supplied by the following Romanian institutions: Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Administration and Interior, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Labour, Family and Social Protection, Ministry of Education, Research, Youth and Sports, Ministry of Regional Development and Tourism, National Institute for Magistracy, Superior Council of Magistracy, People’s Advocate, State Secretariat for Religious Denominations, Department for Interethnic Relations, National Council for Combating Discrimination, National Council for Audio-Visual, National Administration of Penitentiaries, National Authority for Restitution of Properties and National Agency for Roma.
II. Developments concerning normative framework for the protection and promotion of human rights
3. Since 2008 up to date, an ample reform of the judiciary took place. Its impact on the national legislation on human rights will be presented in Chapter III.3. of the present report.
4. Also, a series of normative acts was adopted in order to improve the framework legislation applicable in the justice system (justice system’s regulations), to institutionally strengthen the judiciary, to modernise the statute of the legal professions or related to the justice system, to increase the citizens level of trust in the act of justice and also the European and international partners’ level of trust in the quality and the predictability of the Romanian judiciary activity.
5. In this respect, the following legislative acts can be mentioned as an example:
• Law no. 176/2010 on the integrity in exercising high public functions and public duties, on amending Law no. 144/2007 on setting up, organizing and functioning of the National Integrity Agency, as well as on amending other normative acts, published in the Official Journal no. 621/2 September 2010.
• Law no. 36/2011 on the approval of the Government Emergency Ordinance no.
59/2009 for the amendment of Law no. 303/2004 on the statute of judges and prosecutors and for the amendment and supplementing of Law no. 317/2004 on the Superior Council of Magistracy, published in the Official Journal no. 204 of 24 March 2011.
• Law no. 148/2011 on closing down some courts and the prosecutors’ offices attached thereof, published in the Official Journal no. 510 of 19 July 2011.
• Law no. 300/2011 for the amendment and supplementing of the Law no. 303/2004 on the statute of judges and prosecutors, and also for the amendment of article 29, paragraph 1 lit. b) of Law no. 304/2004 on the organisation of the judiciary, published in the Official Journal no. 925 of 27 December 2011.
• Law no. 63/2012 for amending the Criminal code and the Law no. 286/2009 on the Criminal code (extended confiscation), published in the Official Journal no. 258 of 19 April 2012.
• Law no. 28/2012 for amending and supplementing some normative acts, for improving the activity of valorising the seized assets or, as the case may be, the assets which have entered, according to the law, within the private property of the estate, published in the Official Journal no.189 of 22 March 2012.
• Law no. 60/2012 on the approval of the Government Emergency Ordinance no.
79/2011 for the regulation of certain measures necessary for the entrance into force of the Law no. 287/2009 on the Civil Code, published in the Official Journal no. 255 of 17 April 2012.
• Law no. 76/2012 for the implementation of Law no. 134/2010 on the Civil Procedure Code, published in the Official Journal no. 365 of 30 May 2012.
• Law no. 24/2012 for the amendment and supplementing of Law no. 303/2004 on the statute of judges and prosecutors and of the Law no. 317/2004 on the Superior Council of Magistracy, published in the Official Journal no. 51 of 23 January 2012.
III. Progress in the field of human rights protection and promotion
6. Under this chapter, concerning the recommendations made to Romania in 2008, the evolutions which took place in the period 2008–2012, and in addition to the aspects already presented within the mid-term report submitted by Romania in 2010, the following is to be underlined.
7. With regard to recommendation 1, by Law no. 109 of 14 April 2009, published in the Official Journal no. 300 of 7 May 2009, Romania ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
8. Also, by Law no. 221 of 11 November 2010, Romania ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons of Disabilities, adopted in New York by the United Nations General Assembly on December 2006, opened for signiture on 30 March 2007 and signed by Romania on 26 September 2007.
9. As concerns recommendation 2, in Romania the legal provisions on citizens rights and freedoms are interpreted and enforced in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the convenants and other treaties to which Romania is a party. In accordance with the provisions of Article 20, paragraph (2) of the Romanian Constitution,
“if there is a discrepency between the convenants and treaties on fundamental human rights to which Romania is part, and national laws, the international regulations prevail, unless the Constitution or national laws contains more favourable provisions”. This constitutional provision is a guarantee for the respect of the international standards and an obligation for the Romanian state to prioritize the harmonization of national legislation with international provisions.
A. Equality and protection against any discrimination
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.
11. With regard to recommendations 4, 5, 7 and 10, at the end of 2011, by Government Decision no. 1221/2011, published in the Official Journal no. 6 of 4 January 2012, the Strategy of the Government of Romania for the inclusion of the Romanian citizens belonging to the Roma minority for the period 2012-2020 was adopted.1
12. Roma informal settlements continue to be an important preoccupation of central and local authorities in Romania and substantial efforts are made by authorities and civil society in order to adapt the legislation to the realities. At present, the United Nations Development Program is financing a project in the north-west region of the country, aiming at the efficient use of EU funds for the construction of houses and for the social inclusion of disadvantaged Roma population of Cluj area. The project has a 6 month period of implementation and will be finalised on 15 November 2012.
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 2010.2
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.
17. On 31 July 2012, the number of Roma women employed following the use of measures for stimulating the occupation of the labor market was of 846.
18. The National Agency for Roma, as National Focal Point of ROMED Program, supports the mediators in implementation process of practical activities, supports the Council of Europe in ROMED monitoring process, provides inputs to the pool of trainers
on the online platform, in order to facilitate the organization of the second training session and feedback on the national activities during the stock-taking conference.
19. The Ministry of Administration and Interior developed several programs to solve the issue of persons without identification documents, some of them Roma. For example, following specific activities carried out in 2011, a number of 25,569 citizens of Roma community has been provided with identity papers and a number of 2,534 citizens of Roma community has been provided with civil status papers.
20. Following the initiatives of NAR, during the 2011 National Census of the Population and Housing in Romania, representatives of Roma minority (familiar with Romani language) have been included within the census teams. They facilitated both access to the local communities where a significant number of Roma live, and communication with their members, ensuring on data consistency.
21. With regard to the cultural field, since 2010, National Agency for Roma financially supports an innovative cultural event: the first performance in Romani language of the theatre play “A stormy night” by I. L. Caragiale. This is an absolute premiere in the Romanian theatrical realm, as well as the fact that the whole cast is represented by Roma professional actors.3
22. With regard to the structural projects financed by the European Social Fund, it has to be mentioned that the National Agency for Roma implemented six projects as principal partner funded by the European Social Fund Operational Programme Human Resources Development 2007–2013. These six strategic projects had an implementation period of three years and a total value over 22.2 million Euros, out of which over EUR 18.6 million contributions from the European Union and 3.6 million Euro national contributions.
23. The strategic projects were implemented in 541 communities where the number of Roma people is significant, in partnership with 21 public institutions and representative organizations, out of which 17 are national partners and 4 transnational partners from Italy, Spain and Hungary.
24. At the time of finalisation, all the projects transcended both the indicators proposed and the number of target group. So that instead of 37,000 beneficiaries initially scheduled within the financing contracts, 63,738 people benefited from the projects’ activities.
25. In addition to the six ESF projects mentioned before, NAR is a partner in the implementation of other four projects, two in education and two in social inclusion, together with the Ministry of Labour, Social Protection and Family, municipalities, NGOs and transnational partners from Greece, Portugal and Hungary.
26. Connected to ESF projects, at the initiative of the NAR and with the support of the European Commission, during the Sectorial Operational Program for Human Resources Development Monitoring Committee meeting of 22 October 2009, has decided to set up a Technical Working Group to support access of Roma people to the operations financed by European Social Fund trough SOPHRD. In May 2011, the Group transmitted to the Sectorial Operational Program for Human Resources Development 2007-2013 (SOP HRD) its first report referring to its organization and activity. At the meeting of 24 November 2011, the Regulation of organization and functioning of this Working Group was approved by the decision of SOP HRD Monitoring Committee. One of the main tasks of the Working Group refers to gathering and analysing information on the projects focused on Roma people and the problems that Roma communities are facing.
27. Consequently, the Working Group analysed the results of the implementation of the 103 projects addressing the social integration of Roma in the first half of 2012 and presented its conclusions during the meeting of the Monitoring Committee of the Operational Program for Human Resources Development, held on 5–6 June 2012.
28. It also has to be stressed that the Ministry of Regional Development and Tourism manages the following programs:
(a) The National Program for Infrastructure Development – a program of public investment in infrastructure, approved by Government Emergency Ordinance no. 105/2010.
Until now, the program has included 6 sub-programs, four of which are managed by the Ministry of Regional Development and Tourism:
• 10,000 km of county and local-interest roads;
• Modernization of the Romanian villages;
• Sewerage and wastewater treatment system;
• Water supply to localities.
(b) The program of building rental housing units for young people, developed through the National Housing Agency (NHA).4
29. Mention should also be made that, based on the provisions under Government Decision no. 1237/2008, the Ministry of Regional Development and Tourism is developing the Pilot Program “Social Housing for Roma Communities”. The pilot program aims to implement pilot projects for building a total of 300 social housing units in the 8 development regions of Romania, at locations determined by the Ministry of Regional Development and Tourism, following proposals from the National Agency for the Roma and from the local authorities.
30. As a course of action in implementing the aforementioned strategy, social infrastructure and housing issues require a complementary approach, involving the development of social centres aimed at providing integrated social, employment and training services in areas with a large Roma community.
31. Concerning recommendation 5, the National Employment Agency promotes the employment among the Roma people through an integrated approach, aiming at an active social inclusion. Measures for employment envisage both the labour mediation in order to facilitate the direct access to a job (job fairs for Roma) and information and career counselling, professional training and social promotion to deal with problems faced by certain Roma families/communities are facing from the perspective of poverty and social exclusion.
32. Until 31 December 2011, the Roma people who accessed active measures were in number of 50,149, out of which 5,492 people were employed. For 2011, the NEA had foreseen the participation at free training courses for 1,057 Roma people, out of which 334 are Roma women. By the end of December 2011, the number of unemployed Roma enrolled in the training courses was of 898 people, out of 46,687 people.
33. For professional reintegration of Roma, within the Employment Program for 2011 the Program 145 was included, especially designed for communities with a large number of Roma, in which it was estimated to be employed approximately 39% of the total number of Roma people proposed to be employed in 2011. In this special program, the emphasis is on customized actions, especially on labour mediation and counselling. As a result of the Program 145, until 31 December 2011, 2,444 persons have been employed.
34. On 5 January 2011, the National Education Law no. 1/2011 was adopted. Article 3 of this law states the principles that are governing Romanian pre-university and higher education. Among the principles we find “….i) The principle of the recognition and guarantee of rights to those belonging to national minorities, the right to keep, develop and express their ethnical, cultural, language and religious identity; j) the principle of ensuring equal opportunities; o) the principle of social integration;..” The normative act contains
provisions that establish positive measures and facilities for vulnerable groups, such as Articles 12 and 85.
35. In 2011, the Romanian Police, through its structures with relevant expertise in the field, participated in the Project “Mission Possible – police officer in a multicultural community”, a project that was financed by the Romanian Government through the Department for Interethnic Relations and aimed at promoting ethnic diversity through encouraging the young people belonging to Roma and Hungarian minorities towards a career in the police structures.
36. In 2012 (January–July), the Romanian Police, through its structures with relevant expertise in the field, participated in the following activities which had, as a result, the implementation of an information campaign in 26 high schools at the level of counties Bihor, Cluj, Harghita, Mures and Satu Mare (by organizing meetings with high school students and formal and informal leaders of Roma population) regarding the educational offer of police schools, in order to attract young Roma and Hungarians towards a career in the police. The Romanian Police has also developed and launched the project entitled
"Promoting the concept of “police to the interest of community” (proximity police) in rural areas, especially for Roma communities and other economically and socially disadvantaged communities". The project will run from May 2012 to May 2014, and during this time, a total of 2,400 police personnel will be trained on project-related issues.
37. Also, the National Council for Combating Discrimination, through its specialized departments, has initiated and developed over time a wide range of projects that were designed to cover a significant part of the Objectives and Priorities from the Action Strategy of NCCD.5
38. NCCD is reacting, according to its competences, in cases of discrimination. As an example, we mention NCCD’s self-notification in the case of the wall built by Baia Mare City Hall, which separates social houses, occupied mostly by Roma people, from Horea street and main street for car traffic. The NCCD found that the building of the wall represented discrimination, issued a fine of 6,000 lei (approximately EUR 1.380). At the same time, the Steering Board recommended “partition wall demolition and measures to improve housing conditions of Roma people”.
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.
40. In order to make the non-discrimination and equality principle better known, NCCD organized the "Conference of non-discrimination and equal opportunities", which had three objectives: the capacity development on knowing and understanding of non-discrimination and equal opportunities principles between men and women and different categories of people, developing capacity of understanding and application of objective law to discrimination and equal opportunities, and stimulate interest in involvement to eliminate any kind of discrimination.
41. The relations with the Council of Europe have been tighter in 2011 thanks to the two important monitoring visits which took place at short intervals: the first monitoring visit regarding the application of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages,
which took place between 14 and 17 March, which included separate talks with all the minorities' organizations, discussions with representatives of the central public authorities, with an NGO from Tg. Mures. In January 2012, the Department for Interethnic Relations (DIR) received the opinion project of the Council of Europe on the application of the Charter for Languages in Romania. The third monitoring visit regarding the implementation of the Framework Convention for the protection of national minorities in Romania took place between 17 and 21 October in Bucharest, Cluj and Baia Mare. The delegation was formed by members of the Advisory Committee and of the Council of Europe’s Secretariat of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. The measures taken at a national level in order to implement the recommendations made at the previous monitoring visit were evaluated and a new analysis of the current situation and of the most recent evolutions concerning the national minorities of Romania was made.
42. It is also to be noted that the National Audio-Visual Council (NAC) has constantly been monitoring violation of the legal provisions regarding the prohibition of incitement to hatred or discrimination in accordance with the European Convention on Transfrontier Television and sanctioned violation of the regulation in force. It is worth mentioning that NAC has concluded in 2010 an agreement with the National Council for Combating Discrimination that set the framework for a media campaign, broadcast between 31 March–
31 July 2010, as explained in the press release on the NAC website http://www.cna.ro/Spune-i-NU-discrimin-rii.html. The title of the campaign was: Dosta, overcome prejudices, learn to know Roma people.
43. Concerning persons living with HIV/AIDS and given also recommendation 9, in addition to the aspects presented within the mid-term report, we underline that people newly diagnosed with HIV infection are clinically and laboratory evaluated, based on ECDC/WHO criteria, and included in the antiretroviral therapy. Efforts are made in order to avoid therapy discontinuity and patient drop-out.
44. The National College of Physicians is routinely investigating, upon request from patients, families or NGOs, all the cases of malpractice, including the discrimination against people with HIV and AIDS.
45. The Ministry of Health and the National Health Insurance House coordinate the national health programs for prevention and treatment of HIV and AIDS and monitor, together with NGOs, any case of discrimination of persons living with HIV and AIDS.
46. The NCCD has received three petitions in 2010 concerning discrimination based on the criterion HIV infection, and in 2011 one petition. Their number decreased compared to 2008–2009. In 2008, NCCD has notified itself on the publishing of a list of people infected with HIV on the website of a local authority in order to get facilities on public transport.
NCCD ascertained the discrimination deed and sanctioned the mayor with a fine in amount of 1,000 lei (approximately 280 Euro).
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.
48. As concerns recommendations 3 and 11, during 2010–2011, NCCD has developed, in partnership with the Ministry of Administration and Interior, the project “Training for trainers on preventing and combating all forms of discrimination”. The project aim was to inform, educate and raise awareness among police officers on social issues aimed by the
actions of various groups vulnerable to discrimination. The Ministry of Administration and Interior has implemented this course as a model of good practice in all counties Police schools of the Ministry and, starting with 1st October 2011, the course “Preventing and combating all forms of discrimination” was introduced within the training programs for the personnel of the Ministry.
49. Since 2010, the Institute of Studies for Public Order has developed a partnership with ACCEPT ASSOCIATION- the first Romanian non-governmental organization that defends and promotes the rights of LGBTs (lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgenders) at the national level. As a result, two ISPO trainers took part in a training programme dealing with combating intolerance and discrimination towards persons and groups on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity. ACCEPT Association offered ISPO didactic materials, flyers and brochures regarding issues of sexual orientation, gender identity and hate crimes against LGBTs. These materials are used during the training sessions (basic training programmes for police officers) which are held in ISPO and to which 660 police officers participated from 2011 up to present.6
50. During 2010–2011, within the new Strategy in the field of Equal Opportunities between Women and Men for 2010-2012, reunions and meetings were organized, as well as debates on themes such as equal participation of women and men in the decision making process, eliminating gender stereotypes, the role of women in rural areas, the reduction of the gender pay gap. A various palette of participants, such as representatives of social partners, central public administration, NGO’s and citizens, attended the events.7
51. With regard to recommendation 8, the Romanian authorities at the level of Police units took measures to prevent and counter the antisocial acts against the members of the LGBT community, being interested in training its staff in the field of modern methods used at European level in countering discrimination based on sexual orientation, in order to contribute to a viable partnership between police and sexual minorities.
52. Thus, there is good collaboration between the General Directorate of the Bucharest Municipality Police (GDBMP) and the aforementioned ACCEPT Association, representative of the LGBT community.8
B. Prohibition of torture or cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment
53. With regard to recommendation 24, the Regulation on the security of places of detention subordinated to the National Administration of Penitentiaries (NAP), approved by order of the Minister of Justice no. 1676/C/2010 and published in the Official Journal no.
519 of 27 July 2010, establishes standard procedures for intervention and restraint, detailing in Articles 292-294 the principles set out in Law no. 275/2006 on execution of sentences and measures ordered by the judicial authorities in the course of criminal proceedings , i.e.
the use of means of coercion must be proportional to the degree of danger, they apply only for the period necessary and only when there is no other way of removing danger and they never have the character of a sanction. Provisions are binding on all staff of the Romanian penitentiary system and their failure leads to criminal liability, civil or disciplinary action, as appropriate.
54. By decision no. 429 of 8 April 2011 of Director General of the NAP, the Manual on the structures associated to special security measures, coercion and control, as well as for the use of means of restraint and techniques has been approved.9
55. The Romanian Police carry out different activities that mainly deal with human rights observance for the people deprived of liberty remanded in custody in centres which are subordinated to the General Inspectorate. Starting with 2010, the Romanian Police have taken the initial steps in a direction that facilitated Institute of Studies for Public Order
(ISPO) to promote a series of courses on prevention of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, namely 6 training sessions designed for custody police officers and for those having as area of responsibility criminal investigations and public order.10 56. With regard to issues related to the improvement of detention conditions (recommendation 25), Decision no. 430/2009 of the National Administration of Penitentiaries aimed at creating establishments according to the correctional enforcement in particular, age and sex of inmates, reducing overcrowding, promoting the participation of inmates to work outside the detention room and allowing better distribution of supervisory staff.11
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.
58. This legislation is an important step in the effort to implement the recommendations of the European Court of Human Rights to ensure a minimum living space per inmate (standard of 4 m2 per detainee, regardless of prison regime).12
59. In terms of solutions adopted, we mention the increasing the capacity of accommodation, the involvement of persons deprived of liberty in activities outside the detention room, legislative measures, administrative measures, monitoring mechanisms.13 60. With regard to cases in which Romania is a party before the ECHR, they have been monitored and the reports produced by State institutions and NGOs have been reviewed as a result of their visits in prisons. Also, a system was established for monitoring decisions issued by delegated judges and judgments of the courts concerning the conditions of detention and the exercise of the rights of persons deprived of liberty.
61. Since January 2011, the Inspection and Control Directorate has harmonized its objectives with those covered by the Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT), for the purposes of verification, monitoring and assessment of progress in detention conditions in relation to the issue of CPT and cases submitted before the ECHR.
62. A matter under the serious attention of the Romanian authorities is human trafficking (see recommendation 12). In the period of 2010 - 2011, the Romanian Police elaborated and launched the Project with the title “Strengthening the capacity of judicial authorities for investigating the cases of human trafficking”, on which 230 police officers, gendarmerie officers and prosecutors were trained.14
63. The legal framework on trafficking in persons was completed and improved through amendments to Law no. 678/2001 on preventing and combating human trafficking by Law no. 230/2010, aimed at setting up additional measures to discourage demand, to protect victims, punish traffickers, as well as supplementing the definition of the crime of trafficking to include new forms of exploitation.
64. Regarding the protection and assistance of victims of trafficking in human beings, an important tool is the “Protocol of cooperation on the coordination of human trafficking victims in criminal proceedings”. This tool, created in 2008, follows the existence of a uniform response for victims, through inter-institutional cooperation between state bodies involved in the fight against human trafficking, such as the National Agency against Trafficking in Persons (NAATIP), Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism within the Public Ministry, the General Inspectorate of Romanian Police,
Romanian Immigration Office, General Inspectorate of Border Police and Gendarmerie General Inspectorate of Romanian Ministry of Administration and Interior.15
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 2013.16
C. Administration of justice and rule of law
66. With regard to this aspect, given also recommendations 22 and 23 concerning Romania’s legal reform under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism, the following are to be stressed.
67. The assessment of both anticorruption strategies and their action plans (The National Anti-Corruption Strategy 2005-2007 and the National Anticorruption Strategy/NAS on Vulnerable Sectors and Local Public Administration 2008-2010) was carried out in 2011, by two independent experts, under a project implemented by the Ministry of Justice in cooperation with the United Nations Development Program, “Support to the Ministry of Justice to implement the recommendations of the European Commission under the Co- operation and Verification Mechanism”. The assessment aimed at performing an analysis of the strategies’ impact, the results achieved through their implementation and the interventions undertaken in relation to the priorities and objectives established in them.
68. The assessment process conducted was oriented to defining the relevance and fulfilment of the objectives, development efficiency, effectiveness, impact and sustainability in application of both Anti-Corruption Strategies (2005–2007 and 2008–
2010).
69. The specific recommendations issued by “The independent assessment on the implementation of the National Anticorruption Strategy 2005-2007 and the National Anticorruption Strategy on Vulnerable Sectors and Local Public Administration 2008-2010 in Romania” were incorporated in the new National Anticorruption Strategy 2012-2015.
70. The new NAS 2012-2015 was approved by the Government on 20 March 201217. 71. NAS ensures the implementation of the relevant CVM recommendations set forth by the European Commission and includes the areas identified as EU level priorities in the Commission’s Anticorruption Communication (launched in June 2011): recovering the proceeds of crimes, protection of the whistleblowers, public procurement, prevention and fight against corruption in the political sector, protection of the EU financial interests;
prepares the fourth GRECO evaluation round concerning the prevention of corruption among Members of the Parliament, judges and prosecutors.
72. The new Government assumed the Strategy on 23 May2012. On 12 June 2012, the Parliament (in a joint session of the two chambers) unanimously endorsed NAS by political declaration and the implementation of the Strategy has been initiated.18
73. With regard to Romania’s legal reform under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (see recommendation 23), the following is to be mentioned:
Main progress aspects achieved under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism have been registered within the referred period and have been reported within the most recent Annual Report of the European Commission (published on 18th of July 2012). The main progress fields of the Romanian judicial system were the following: a substantial modernization of the main legislation – the ambitious
legislative agenda regarding the four new codes (Civil, Civil Procedural, Criminal, Criminal procedural Code); the solid new framework described by the new National Anti-corruption Strategy; commitment in fighting against corruption (successful investigation, prosecution and trial the high level corruption cases).
1. Benchmark 1 – Reform of the judiciary
Implementation of the four new codes
74. Law no. 202/2010 (“small reform law”) introduced a series of measures to simplify and render efficient the judicial provisions, anticipating the entry into force of the procedural codes. This law basically collected the most simple but efficient rules of the new procedural codes and provided the framework for their anticipated entering into force (the criterion was to select those provisions that did not require supplementary preparation, be it administrative or training, but could trigger an immediate effect). As regards its effects, the reactions were positive, both from courts and prosecutors’ offices19.
75. The four new codes have been elaborated, debated in the Parliament and adopted (in 2009 and 2010) – they will change the whole paradigm of functioning of the Romanian justice. The substantive codes (Civil and Criminal) bring a series of important changes in substantive rules governing civil relations and criminal matters, while the procedural codes aim at making more efficient the procedures, thus responding to the need to shorten the duration of the trials and to introduce flexibility, predictability, transparency and consistency in the judicial process.
76. The new Civil Code entered into force, without difficulty or drawbacks, in October 2011.
77. On the basis of the impact studies finalized in November 2011, the entry into force of the other three Codes will follow in the next period: Civil Procedure Code – 1st February 2013; Criminal Code and Criminal Procedure Code – 1st February 2014. The entry into force of the new Civil Procedure Code will continue the judicial reform initiated by Law no. 202/2010. As a novelty, the new Code explicitly stipulates the fundamental principles of civil procedure, established, so far, only by the doctrine and the jurisprudence.
78. With regard to the strengthening the accountability of magistrates, a new law for strengthening the disciplinary responsibility of the judiciary entered into force on 23 January 201220.
79. As for improving the transparency and objectivity of the procedure for promotion to the High Court of Cassation and Justice (HCCJ), the law on promotion to the HCCJ is already in force following the adoption by the Parliament in December 201121. The law aims at securing the transparency and objectivity of the process of promotion to the HCCJ, with the aim of ensuring that the most suitable candidates get to occupy the positions in the Supreme Court.22
2. Benchmark 2 – National Integrity Agency (ANI)
Establishment of the institution and its main objectives
80. According to the requirement deriving from this benchmark, Romania established a National Integrity Agency which has been operational since the end of 2007. Romania was the first European country to create such an independent, operational institution, competent to control and verify the wealth, conflicts of interest and incompatibilities. As to the strengthening the institutional capacity of ANI, it has received a significant increase in its budget and attracted substantial EU funds to improve its information system and procedures. ANI’s track record was constantly consolidated over the four years of activity
and it has been appreciated in a very positive manner in the Commission’s reports since 200923. Thus, six successive Commission reports acknowledged the positive results in the activity of the Agency. ANI presently continues to deliver positive results in its activity. In June 2012, there were 3.305 on-going investigations carried out by ANI.
81. On 21 December 2011, the Superior Council of Magistracy (SCM) and ANI signed a protocol of collaboration in order to increase public confidence in judiciary, for strengthening SCM credibility and for increasing the efficiency of the courts and of the prosecutors’ offices.24
3. Benchmark 3 - Fight against high-level corruption
Role of the National Anticorruption Directorate (NAD) and its main objectives
82. The National Anticorruption Directorate is a specialized, independent structure, functioning within the General Prosecutors’ Office, which investigates high level corruption cases. The NAD is independent from courts and prosecutor’s offices attached thereof, as well as in relation with the other public authorities, exercising its attributions only on the basis of the law and for ensuring the compliance with the law.
83. In time, several procedural aspects have been improved in order to increase the efficiency of the trials in high-level corruption cases (e.g. several provisions were repealed, such as the de jure suspension of trials when objections of unconstitutionality were raised and the possibility to suspend the criminal trial by raising the illegality exception). These amendments helped improving the efficiency in high-level corruption trials. As a consequence, none of the high-level corruption cases pending before the Criminal Section of the HCCJ was suspended on these grounds ever since.
84. Furthermore, in order to accelerate the high-level corruption cases, the High Court of Cassation and Justice (HCCJ) has taken a number of managerial and administrative measures to improve the celerity of high-level corruption trials. These measures included the prioritization of cases closer to statute-barred periods and the temporary use of spare court rooms in other courts to allow for more frequent hearings. An additional building was allocated to the High Court in November 2011. As a result of the organizational measures taken, between 5 September 2011 and 11 June 2012 there were established 355 hearings in high level corruption cases tried in first instance by the Criminal Chamber of the HCCJ, in which NAD issued the indictment. These measures led to a significant acceleration of the cases which were pending at the High Court and also resulted in an increased number of verdicts. Thus, concerning recent statistics, in 2011, the Criminal Chamber of HCCJ solved in first instance 15 high-level corruption cases, in comparison with 2 such cases in 2009, respectively with 2 such cases in 2010. Between 1 January 2012 and 11 June 2012, the Criminal Chamber solved in first instance 14 high-level corruption cases. In 2011, the HCCJ delivered 9 final decisions in high-level corruption cases. Between 1 January 2012 and 11 June 2012, the HCCJ rendered 6 final decisions in high-level corruption cases.
4. Benchmark 4 – Prevention and fight against local-level corruption and corruption in vulnerable sectors:
Activity of prosecutor’s offices countrywide
85. In terms of concrete results, statistics from local prosecutor’s offices show that the number of defendants prosecuted for corruption offences by the prosecutor’s offices attached to tribunals in 2011 increased by 13.47% as compared to 2010. 162 of the defendants were public officials, mainly police officers (105), mayors (7) and employees in the local administration (34). Furthermore, 28 final convictions and 55 non final convictions were issued in the corruption cases investigated by regular prosecutor’s offices.
The total value of assets frozen by all the prosecutor’s offices for all types of crimes in 2011 was 1,024,979,707 RON.
Activities conducted by the Ministry of Administration and Interior (MAI)
86. The activities concerning the prevention and fight against corruption within the MAI continued. The Anticorruption General Directorate (DGA) co-ordinates and monitors the
„Strategy for preventing and countering corruption within MAI for 2011–2013”, a document which establishes the coordinates of the anticorruption activities conducted within the ministry in order to increase integrity of MAI personnel.
87. DGA has a substantial track record, which has been positively assessed in the CVM reports of the European Commission25. The February interim report notes that DGA has taken steps to consolidate its work to tackle corruption.26
D. Freedom of conscience and religion
88. Regarding problems of religious intolerance and interreligious dialogue (recommendations 19–21), the State Secretariat of Religious Affairs organized numerous national and international manifestations which aimed at promoting inter-religious and inter-confessional dialogue, the defense of freedom and fundamental rights; this institution supported and continues to support, also financially, the manifestations organized by the religious cults of our country, meetings and conferences whose topic is the dialogical dimension of religion. Among the events we can mention the dialogue between Christians and Jews organized in Iaşi, the assemblies organized annually in Constanţa between representatives of the Orthodox Church, the Catholic Church, the Mosaic Cult and the Muslim Cult, conferences and meetings organized by Romanian theological faculties which are attended by theologians and representatives of all the cults of Romania.
89. With the aim of advising on the matters of mutual issues of society, the promotion of solidarity and cooperation between different cults from Romania, but also for the prevention of inter-religious and inter-denominational conflicts, the cults of Romania constituted in April 2011 an Advisory Council of the Churches and Religious Denominations.27
90. Also, in the activity of solving the complaints addressed to the National Council for Combating Discrimination, the Steering Board, through its decisions, applies contravention sanctions by warnings or fines, and provide recommendations to prevent future acts of discrimination or the re-establishment of the situation prior to the discrimination.28
E. Children’s rights
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.29
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.30
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.31
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.32
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.33
99. Regarding the respect for children rights in the context of the activity of Romanian Gendarmerie, it has to be mentioned that this 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.34
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.35
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.36
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.37
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.38
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.39
F. Women’s rights
108. Regarding the prevention and elimination of domestic violence against women (recommendation 13), Law no. 217/2003 on preventing and combating domestic violence has been recently substantially amended by Law no. 25/2012. One of the most important improvements of the law is the introduction of the restriction order, which is a measure of protection for the victim of domestic violence that can be issued by the court. Another specific measure of protection provided by the new law aims to improve the efficiency of authorities to support and advise victims in order to resort to legal means for sanctioning domestic violence cases.
109. Besides the legal improvements, a number of programs with national coverage were dedicated to this field of activity, based on a financing offered from the state budged by the Ministry of Labour, Family and Social Protection.
110. Also, in December 2009, a group of 12 EU Member States among which Romania, presented a proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and the Council on the European protection order. The proposal was adopted in 2011 (Directive 2011/99/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011 on the European protection order).
111. During the year 2010, at national level 36 informal campaigns were conducted, 19 domestic violence prevention projects and also about 37.000 persons received preventive information. In conducting the activities, external partners have been involved as well.40
G. Rights of persons with disabilities
112. On this issue and given also recommendation 6, Romania underlines that during 2011 the National Council for Combating Discrimination, in partnership with the Institute for Public Policy, a nongovernmental organization whose aim is to support an increased quality of the processes related to the development of public policies in Romania, carried out the project “People with intellectual disabilities do have rights!”. The project was co- financed by the European Commission PROGRESS Program (2007-2013).41
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.
H. Right to health
114. Regarding progress on mental health issues (recommendation 26), in order to ensure more adequate provision of mental health care, the Ministry of Health revised its policy and created in 2008 the National Centre of Mental Health and Anti-Drug, the specialised public institution, subordinated to the MOH, having as aim a better coordination, implementation and evaluation of the mental health policies at the national level, including the promotion of human rights for people with mental health problems.
115. In the last years, there were significant steps made in improving the legislation in mental health care. The MOH and NCMHAD in close collaboration with the Ministry of Justice have accomplished to set up a proposal containing several amendments to the Law no. 487/2002 on Mental Health in the early 2010. This draft was recently voted by the Parliament (on 19 June 2012).42
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.
117. There is an annual National Programme of Mental Health running, coordinated methodologically by the Psychiatry Commission of the Ministry of Health and technically by the National Centre of Mental Health and Anti-Drug.
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.43
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).
121. With regard to recommendation 27, it is to be noted that the National Health Programs implemented by the Ministry of Health have constantly provided for an increased access to services of sexual and reproduction health, especially for marginalized groups.
122. As concerns recommendation 28, the Roma Health Mediators and the Community Nurses are mainly tasked to facilitate access of Roma people and other marginal populations (e.g. from rural zones) to health care services. They receive adequate training, which prepares them for responding to the specificities of their job.
I. Right to own property
123. Regarding the right to own property and given also recommendation 30, it is to be noted that Romania is currently in the process of modifying the legal frame on the restitution of properties nationalized during the communist period in order to comply with
