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Human Rights Developments Defending Human Rights The Role of the International Community United Nations On December 8, 1999, the U.N. Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights welcomed Bulgaria's extensive efforts to comply with its obligations under the covenant. It expressed concern, however, with continued discrimination against the Roma in education, social benefits, access to land, and other areas. The committee also criticized restrictions on the right to strike and the lack of opportunities for minorities to receive education in their own languages. Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Hans Van der Stoel delivered a report on the situation of Roma and Sinti in the OSCE area in March 2000. The high commissioner criticized employment discrimination in Bulgaria and pointed out that fourteen Romani men reportedly died in police custody between 1992 and 1998. Although the report noted that disproportionate numbers of Romani children are sent to "special schools" for mentally disabled children, it concluded that the practice is less prevalent than in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary. Council of Europe On January 26, the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly ended a three-year monitoring procedure for Bulgaria, on the grounds that the country was committed to democratic reform and made major steps forward on the road to democracy. A final report by the Council of Europe rapporteurs acknowledged democratic achievement in Bulgaria but also called for improvements in the independence of the judiciary and the media, the rights of minorities, the functioning of local self-government, and for additional efforts to combat corruption and police brutality. In the case of Velikova v. Bulgaria, regarding the 1994 police beating and death of a Roma man, Slavcho Tsonchev, the European Court of Human Rights ruled on May 18 that Bulgaria had violated the right to life and the right to an effective remedy. European Union In December 1999, the European Council opened negotiations for Bulgarian accession to the European Union. On July 5, the European Parliament recommended to the E.U. council that Bulgaria be taken off the list of countries whose citizens need a visa to enter the E.U. border-free territory. President Stoyanov expressed concern on July 6 that Bulgaria was regarded as an outsider in the E.U. enlargement process. United States During a November 1999 visit, President Clinton encouraged Bulgaria to persist in building a free society and, in apparent disregard of ongoing abuses, hailed the country's tolerance toward various ethnic groups, but he also raised arms trade concerns with the Bulgarian prime minister. Prior to the visit, the United States extended a U.S. $25 million grant to Bulgaria to mitigate the effects of the Kosovo crisis and to ease the social burden of economic reform. |
Albania Armenia Azerbaijan Republic of Belarus Bosnia and Hercegovina Bulgaria Croatia Czech Republic Georgia Greece Hungary Kazakhstan Kyrgyztan Macedonia Romania Russian Federation Slovakia Tajikistan Turkey Turkmenistan United Kingdom / Northern Ireland Uzbekistan Federal Republic of Yugoslavia |
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