31. januar 2003
PRESS RELEASE FROM ERRC(European Roma Rights Center) CONCERNING THE CASE
OF RACE SEGREGATION IN DENMARK:
The European Roma Rights Center in Budapest, an
international public interest law organization that monitors the human rights
situation of the Roma and provides legal defense in cases of human rights abuse,
has criticized the practice of racial segregation in schools in Helsingør
County(Municipality), Denmark. Per Legal Director Jean Garland, the placement of
children in Roma-only classes violates the provisions of several international
instruments, including the International Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Racial Discrination, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the
Convention on the Rights of the Child, the International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights,and the International covenant on Civil and Political
Rights. As noted by the United States Supreme Court in the Brown v.
Board of Education case in the 1950's, "The doctrine of separate but equal
has no place in the field of public education, since separate educational
facilities are inherently unequal." We are fighting such practices
in several countries in Central and Eastern Europe, but it is particularly
disappointing to see the same practices in an "enlightened" country like
Denmark.
Jean Garland
Gloria Jean Garland
Legal Director
European
Roma Rights Center
Nyar u. 12.
Budapest 1072
Hungary
tel:
+36/1/413-2220
fax:+36/1/413-2201
cell:+36/20/935-8778