{"id":1186,"date":"2014-10-17T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-10-16T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/%20rroma.org\/17-10-2014-france-thirty-civil-rights-organizations-calling-for-a-respectful-treatment-of-the-residents-of-informal-settlements\/"},"modified":"2022-08-04T11:47:26","modified_gmt":"2022-08-04T10:47:26","slug":"17-10-2014-france-thirty-civil-rights-organizations-calling-for-a-respectful-treatment-of-the-residents-of-informal-settlements","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rroma.org\/de\/17-10-2014-france-thirty-civil-rights-organizations-calling-for-a-respectful-treatment-of-the-residents-of-informal-settlements\/","title":{"rendered":"17.10.2014 France: Thirty civil rights organizations calling for a respectful treatment of the residents of informal settlements"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Amnesty International \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFrance (2014) reports on a new collective charter of thirty French civil rights \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\torganisations, which is currently being elaborated. In it, the initiators demand \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\ta more respectful treatment of the residents of informal settlements by the \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFrench authorities, especially Rroma: \u201cIt \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t[the charter] has the goal to change the mentalities and opinions with which \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tone meets the residents of the sites, by communicating the recognition and \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\trespect of their fundamental rights and dignity. The illicit nature of an \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\toccupation does not allow use illegal means to end the situation;<\/em> numerous rules shall limit the scope of the \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpublic authorities and the owners [of the occupied land]. Once made \u200b\u200bpublic, one \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\twill be able to distribute it on the sites and slums in different languages, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tdepending on the people present (French, English, Romanian or Bulgarian). To \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tknow ones\u2019 rights is essential in order to assert them and to be protected, or \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tto protect ones family.\u201d It is in fact essential that a fair balance between \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tthe right to property, which in France has constitutional status, and the \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tfundamental rights of the residents is ensured, not least their right to accommodation.\u201d \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/em>The charter on the fundamental rights of the residents of informal \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tsettlements will, in addition to the residents themselves, also be distributed \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tto political deputies, bailiffs, police authorities, and other public authorities, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tin order to enforce its compliance, if somehow possible. One should add to Amnesty \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tInternational\u2019s remarks that the forced evacuations of informal settlements \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tcomplicate a long-term integration of Rroma immigrants. The evictions don\u2019t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tsolve the existing problems and the question of integration, but simply push \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tthem from one location to the next. Particularly affected are the children, who \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\toften visit local schools and are hindered by the evictions at a successful \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\teducation. The rigorous expulsion of the minority reflects the unwillingness of \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tthe French government to engage in an active integration policy. Furthermore, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tby the one-sided media focus on the informal settlements it is suggested that \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tthere are only Rroma belonging to the lower class, which are poorly educated. However, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tthe Rroma from the slums only constitute a minority of the minority in France. \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAccording to estimates of the Rroma Foundation, 100,000 to 500,000 Rroma are \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tintegrated and live unobtrusively in French society. They belong to the middle \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass or even the upper class and are constantly ignored by the French media, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tthe public and politicians. For fear of discrimination, many of these \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tintegrated Rroma keep their identity a secret. <\/p>\n