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Human rights in
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
are generally respected by the government. However, there have been concerns regarding allegations of
police brutality Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, but is not limited to, ...
, mistreatment of the Romani minority, government corruption, poor prison conditions, and compromised judicial independence. Romania was ranked 59th out of 167 countries in the 2015
Democracy Index The ''Democracy Index'' is an index compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), the research division of the Economist Group, a UK-based private company which publishes the weekly newspaper ''The Economist''. Akin to a Human Development I ...
and is described as a "flawed democracy", similar to other countries in
Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
or
Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russ ...
.


Corruption and institutional abuses

Corruption in Romania Corruption in Romania has decreased in recent years. In particular since 2014, Romania undertook a significant anti-corruption effort that included the investigation and prosecution of medium- and high-level political, judicial and administrative ...
is a serious systemic problem, according to the anti-corruption report of the EC. Although the anti-corruption struggle has seen an upward trend in recent years, and the investigations of the National Anticorruption Directorate (NAD) have led to a former prime minister's trial in 2015 and other important public representatives, corruption still affects many aspects of life. The US Department of State's report on human rights practices highlights that bribes has remained an ordinary thing in the public sector.
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
and
Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
are the only EU members monitored through the
Mechanism for Cooperation and Verification The Mechanism for Cooperation and Verification (CVM) is a safeguard measure invoked by the European Commission when a new member or acceding state of the European Union has failed to implement commitments undertaken in the context of the acces ...
. The MCV was established at the time
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
joined the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
in 2007 to remedy the shortcomings of judicial reform and the fight against corruption. Although there have been significant improvements, corruption remains an issue, affecting many areas of life. Despite the fact that Romanian law and regulations contain provisions intended to prevent corruption, enforcement has generally been weak until recently. The image of Romania was badly affected by the 2012 political crisis, when the
European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...
expressed concerns about the
rule of law The rule of law is the political philosophy that all citizens and institutions within a country, state, or community are accountable to the same laws, including lawmakers and leaders. The rule of law is defined in the ''Encyclopedia Britannica ...
. The Commission also criticised Romania for failing to root out corruption and political influence in its state institutions. The 2017 Romanian protests were massive public protests against government plans of decriminalizing certain forms of corruption.
Police brutality Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, but is not limited to, ...
is also a problem. The
Romanian Police The Romanian Police ( ro, Poliția Română, ) is the national police force and main civil law enforcement agency in Romania. It is subordinated to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and it is led by a General Inspector with the rank of Secretary ...
was demilitarized in 2002, and has been reorganized, in order to modernize it and rid it of former abusive practices inherited from the communist era. However problems, such as police brutality, are reported to persist. According to the US
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices Country Reports on Human Rights Practices are annual publications on the human rights conditions in countries and regions outside the United States, mandated by U.S. law to be submitted annually by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor of ...
, NGOs and the media reported that "police mistreated and abused prisoners, pretrial detainees, gypsies, and other citizens, primarily through use of excessive force including beatings". Prison conditions are another problem: in 2017, the ECHR ruled that detention conditions in Romanian prisons are in breach of European Convention of Human Rights.


Freedom of the press

The government has been accused at times of restricting
freedom of the press Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic News media, media, especially publication, published materials, should be conside ...
. Journalists who wrote reports critical of government policies and actions have claimed they were targets for harassment and intimidation during the 2004 Romanian presidential election. Romania was ranked 46th out of 178 countries in
Reporters Without Borders Reporters Without Borders (RWB; french: Reporters sans frontières; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organization with the stated aim of safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its advocacy as found ...
' 2017
World Press Freedom Index The Press Freedom Index is an annual ranking of countries compiled and published by Reporters Without Borders since 2002 based upon the organisation's own assessment of the countries' press freedom records in the previous year. It intends to re ...
; another report by
Freedom House Freedom House is a non-profit, majority U.S. government funded organization in Washington, D.C., that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom, and human rights. Freedom House was founded in October 1941, and Wendell Wil ...
describes the Romanian press as "partly free".


Human trafficking

There has been a growing awareness of
human trafficking Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others. This may encompass providing a spouse in the context of forced marriage, or the extrac ...
as a human rights issue in Europe (''see main article:
Human trafficking in Romania Romania is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically conditions of forced labor and women and children in forced prostitution. Gypsy men, women, and children are subj ...
''). The end of communism has contributed to an increase in human trafficking, with the majority of victims being women forced into prostitution. Romania is a country of origin and country of transit for persons, primarily women and children, trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation. The Romanian government has shown some commitment to combat trafficking but has been criticized for failing to fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. The new Romanian Criminal Code, which came into force on 1 February 2014, creates several offenses against
slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
,
human trafficking Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others. This may encompass providing a spouse in the context of forced marriage, or the extrac ...
,
child trafficking Trafficking of children is a form of human trafficking and is defined by the United Nations as the "recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, and/or receipt" kidnapping of a child for the purpose of slavery, forced labour and exploitation. ...
,
pimping Procuring or pandering is the facilitation or provision of a prostitute or other sex worker in the arrangement of a sex act with a customer. A procurer, colloquially called a pimp (if male) or a madam (if female, though the term pimp has still ...
,
forced labour Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, violence including death, or other forms of ex ...
, and using exploited persons (Art. 182 ''Exploitation of a person'', Art. 209 ''Slavery'', Art. 210 ''Trafficking in human beings'', Art. 211 ''Trafficking in underage persons'', Art. 212 ''Pressing into forced or compulsory labor'', Art. 213 ''Pandering'', Art. 214 ''Exploitation of beggary'', Art. 216 ''Use of an exploited person’s services''). Romania has ratified the
Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings The Council of Europe Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings is a regional human rights treaty of international human rights law by the Council of Europe. The Convention aims to: * prevent and combat all forms of human trafficki ...
; and is also a party to the UN
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children #REDIRECT Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children #REDIRECT Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children {{R from move ...
{{R from mov ...
.


Children's rights

Children's rights Children's rights are a subset of human rights with particular attention to the rights of special protection and care afforded to minors.
are protected by several laws; and Romania also has international obligations due to the conventions it has ratified. Children have equal rights, regardless of whether they were born inside or outside of marriage. This is stipulated in the Romanian Constitution, at Art. 48 (3) which states "Children born out of wedlock are equal before the law with those born in wedlock"; and also by Art. 260 of the civil code. In addition, Romania ratified ''The European Convention on the Legal Status of Children Born out of Wedlock'', and, therefore, it is bound to ensure that children born outside marriage are provided with legal rights as stipulated in the text of this Convention. The '' 72/2004Law on the protection and promotion of the rights of the child, republished in 2014'' is an important law dealing with children's rights. According to the new criminal code which came into force on 1 February 2014, Article 197 titled ''Ill treatments applied to underage persons'' outlaws
child abuse Child abuse (also called child endangerment or child maltreatment) is physical, sexual, and/or psychological maltreatment or neglect of a child or children, especially by a parent or a caregiver. Child abuse may include any act or failure to a ...
. The general age of consent in Romania is 15. Romania has also ratified the Lanzarote Convention. As a
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
member, it is also subject to the EU's ''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. With regard to the
right to education The right to education has been recognized as a human right in a number of international conventions, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights which recognizes a right to free, compulsory primary education for ...
of children, parents/legal guardians are obligated to ensure the child gets an education; failure to do so can result in criminal prosecution (Art. 380 ''Preventing access to compulsory public education''). Parents/legal guardians have an obligation to ensure that their children do not engage in undesirable behaviors. For example, according to Art 33 of Law No. 61/1991 penalising the violation of public order and social standards, parents/legal guardians who fail to take "adequate measures" to prevent children under 16 from engaging in vagrancy, begging, or prostitution are liable to pay a contraventional fine (Law No. 61/1991 on contraventions applies only in cases when the deed of the guilty party does not constitute a criminal offense). The US Country Reports on Human Rights Practices reports that some children, particularly from the Roma ethnicity, were not registered (although birth registration is mandatory under the law). Under the new
Civil Code of Romania The Civil Code of Romania (''Codul civil al României'', commonly referred to as ''Noul Cod Civil'' – the New Civil Code, officially Law no. 287/2009 on the Civil Code) is the basic source of civil law in Romania. It was adopted by Parliament on ...
which came into force in October 2011, the general
marriageable age Marriageable age (or marriage age) is the general age, as a legal age or as the minimum age subject to parental, religious or other forms of social approval, at which a person is legitimately allowed for marriage. Age and other prerequisites to ...
is set at 18, but can be lowered to 16 under special circumstances, with authorization from the district's administrative board. (Art 272 ''Marriageable age''). Law nr. 288/2007 increased girls' marriageable age, bringing it in line with that of boys; prior to this law, girls could, in special cases, get married at 15, and as a general rule at 16. Romania is a party to the 1980
Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction or Hague Abduction Convention is a multilateralism, multilateral treaty that provides an expeditious method to return a child international child abduction, international ...
.


Women's rights

Women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...
in Romania are subject to constitutional provisions and internal laws. Romania is also bound by directives of the European Union, and international conventions it has ratified. The Constitution of Romania protects women's rights. Article 4 (2) enshrines the principle of non-
discrimination Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of race, gender, age, relig ...
, stating that: "Romania is the common and indivisible homeland of all its citizens, without any discrimination on account of race, nationality, ethnic origin, language, religion, sex, opinion, political adherence, property or social origin". Art 48 (1) ensures equal rights in
family law Family law (also called matrimonial law or the law of domestic relations) is an area of the law that deals with family matters and domestic relations. Overview Subjects that commonly fall under a nation's body of family law include: * Marriage, ...
: "The family is founded on the freely consented marriage of the spouses, their full equality .." The rights of women in the workforce are also protected: Article 47 (2) reads: "Citizens have the right to pensions, paid
maternity leave Parental leave, or family leave, is an employee benefit available in almost all countries. The term "parental leave" may include maternity, Paternity (law), paternity, and adoption leave; or may be used distinctively from "maternity leave" and ...
.. and Article 41 states: (2) "All employees have the right to measures of social protection. These concern employees' safety and health, working conditions for women and young people .. and (4) "On equal work with men, women shall get equal wages." With regard to the new civil code, relevant provisions include Art. 30 ''Equality in front of the civil law'' and Art. 258 ''The Family'' (freely given consent for marriage; equality of the spouses). In 2016, Romania ratified the
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence The Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence, better known as the Istanbul Convention, is a human rights treaty of the Council of Europe against violence against women and domestic v ...
(Istanbul Convention).


Anti-discrimination laws

Romania has many laws banning discrimination. The problems in the country are not rooted in lack of legislation, as Romania has a strong ''de jure'' framework, but in the lack of enforcement of the existing laws - often due to bureaucracy,
corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...
, and social norms. The most important anti-discrimination laws are: *Ordinance no. 137 of 31 August 2000 republished (law on preventing and sanctioning all forms of discrimination) *Law no. 202 of 19 April 2002 republished (law on equality of opportunity and treatment between men and women) In addition to these laws specifically created to deal with discrimination, articles banning discrimination can also be found in many general laws, which deal with general aspects of life, and also contain specific articles banning discrimination in that area (e.g. Law no. 188 of 8 December 1999 republished aw on the status of civil servants the Labour Code of 24 January 2003, the Law on National Education no.1/2011, etc.). Furthermore, discrimination is also addressed in the
Criminal Code A criminal code (or penal code) is a document that compiles all, or a significant amount of a particular jurisdiction's criminal law. Typically a criminal code will contain offences that are recognised in the jurisdiction, penalties that migh ...
, art Art. 297 (2) which reads:"''The same punishment applies to the action of a public servant who, while exercising their professional responsibilities, limits the exercise of a right of a person or creates for the latter a situation of inferiority on grounds of race, nationality, ethnic origin, language, religion, sex, sexual orientation, political membership, wealth, age, disability, chronic non-transmissible disease or HIV/AIDS infection''".


Domestic violence

Domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...
is serious problem in Romania. Although Romania has improved its legislative framework in the 21st century, and also ratified the
Istanbul Convention The Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence, better known as the Istanbul Convention, is a human rights treaty of the Council of Europe against violence against women and domestic v ...
in 2016,
violence against women Violence against women (VAW), also known as gender-based violence and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), are violent acts primarily or exclusively committed against women or girls, usually by men or boys. Such violence is often consi ...
occurring in the private sphere remains an issue. Romania was convicted by the ECHR in 2017 for its failure to act.


Right to education

Romania has been criticized for its failure to enforce the
right to education The right to education has been recognized as a human right in a number of international conventions, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights which recognizes a right to free, compulsory primary education for ...
of certain social groups, namely
rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are describ ...
children and
Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...
children, notwithstanding the fact
education in Romania Education in Romania is based on a free-tuition, egalitarian system. Access to free education is guaranteed by Article 32 in the Constitution of Romania. Education is regulated and enforced by the Ministry of National Education. Each step has its ...
is compulsory until the 10th grade (usually corresponding to age 16 or 17).
Segregation Segregation may refer to: Separation of people * Geographical segregation, rates of two or more populations which are not homogenous throughout a defined space * School segregation * Housing segregation * Racial segregation, separation of humans ...
of Roma children in schools, which is illegal, continues unofficially in some schools, and in 2017 the NGOs ERRC and Romani CRISS urged the European Commission to launch an investigation into the segregation of Roma children in schools. The access of children who live in rural areas to education is another area of concern: their situation becomes very problematic after the eighth grade (the last grade of middle school/gymnasium corresponding to age 14-15) because children must change schools to go to high school, and many villages do not have high schools, and therefore parents must make arrangements for their children to commute to the nearest locality or for the child to move there, which is difficult, and as a result many children abandon school (despite the fact that education is compulsory until tenth grade). In one study, a third of rural school children said they planned to drop out of school after eighth grade.


Background of human rights in Romania

Romania at the turn of the 20th century was a very progressive country and had strong human rights roots: it was, for instance, one of only seven countries in Europe to have abolished the
death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
during peacetime.Adams, Robert. ''The Abuses of Punishment'', p.150. Macmillan (1998), . However the image of Romania was later tarnished internationally by severe violations of human rights during successive
dictatorship A dictatorship is a form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, which holds governmental powers with few to no limitations on them. The leader of a dictatorship is called a dictator. Politics in a dictatorship are ...
systems: that of
Ion Antonescu Ion Antonescu (; ; – 1 June 1946) was a Romanian military officer and marshal who presided over two successive wartime dictatorships as Prime Minister and ''Conducător'' during most of World War II. A Romanian Army career officer who made ...
during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
; and the following
communist Romania The Socialist Republic of Romania ( ro, Republica Socialistă România, RSR) was a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist One-party state, one-party socialist state that existed officially in Romania from 1947 to 1989. From 1947 to 1965, the s ...
regime which included executions of political 'enemies' in the 1950s, and later on, the infamous
natalist Natalism (also called pronatalism or the pro-birth position) is an ideology that promotes the reproduction of human life as the preeminent objective of being human. Compare: The term, as it relates to the belief itself, comes from the French wor ...
policy of
Nicolae Ceaușescu Nicolae Ceaușescu ( , ;  – 25 December 1989) was a Romanian communist politician and dictator. He was the general secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989, and the second and last Communist leader of Romania. He was ...
, with its resulting abuse of unwanted children in
Romanian orphanages Orphanhood in Romania became prevalent as a consequence of the Socialist Republic of Romania's pro-natality policy under Nicolae Ceaușescu. Its effectiveness led to an increase in birth rates at the expense of adequate family planning and reproduc ...
, as well as the extreme control of everyday life through practices such as phone bugging, and other abuses of the communist
Securitate The Securitate (, Romanian for ''security'') was the popular term for the Departamentul Securității Statului (Department of State Security), the secret police agency of the Socialist Republic of Romania. Previously, before the communist regime ...
. Human rights improved greatly after the
Romanian Revolution The Romanian Revolution ( ro, Revoluția Română), also known as the Christmas Revolution ( ro, Revoluția de Crăciun), was a period of violent civil unrest in Romania during December 1989 as a part of the Revolutions of 1989 that occurred i ...
.


See also

*
Crime in Romania Crime in Romania is combated by the Romanian Police, Gendarmerie and other agencies. Crime by type Violent crime Romania differs from many countries in that violent crime is more likely to occur in rural areas than in cities, due to the socioeco ...
*
LGBT rights in Romania Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in Romania may face legal challenges and discrimination not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Attitudes in Romania are generally conservative, with regard to the rights of gay, lesbian, bis ...
*
Romanian orphans Orphanhood in Romania became prevalent as a consequence of the Socialist Republic of Romania's pro-natality policy under Nicolae Ceaușescu. Its effectiveness led to an increase in birth rates at the expense of adequate family planning and reproduc ...
*
Abortion in Romania Abortion in Romania is currently legal as an elective procedure during the first 14 weeks of pregnancy, and for medical reasons at later stages of pregnancy. In the year 2004, there were 216,261 live births and 191,000 reported abortions, meaning th ...
*
Environmental racism in Europe Environmental racism is a term used by Enikő Vincze (2013) for "the practice of environmental injustice within a racialized context", in which "socially marginalized communities and minority groups" are subjected to disproportionate exposure to e ...


References

*
Romania


External links


Censorship in Romania
- IFEX {{DEFAULTSORT:Human Rights In Romania