What Is Racial Discrimination and Struggle Against It: Short Guide-book

Discrimination on the basis of signs of race, colors of skin or ethnic belonging (“racial discrimination”) – it practically always violations of human rights. In International convention about liquidation of all forms of racial discrimination, which is a basic normative act, inhibitoring a racial discrimination, talked:“... term a “racial discrimination” means any distinction, exclusion, limitation or preference, based on the signs of race, colors of skin, family, national or ethnic origins, having for an aim or an investigation elimination or belittling of confession, use or realization on the equal beginnings of human rights and basic freedoms in political, economic, social, cultural or any other spheres of public life”. Fundamental principle of undiscrimination is equality of rights racial, ethnic and national minorities to a law and right of equal defence of law. An international law forbids racial discrimination in the followings areas (but not limited them only): education, health protection, housing, employment, and also in access to public services. The states are carried by direct obligations for prevention, punishment and methods of struggle against discrimination.

The modern European right explains, what is it “direct” and “indirect” discrimination. In the recently accepted Directive of European Union about racial equality (2000/43/ec), “inculcating principle of equal appeal regardless of racial or ethnic belonging of person”, it is talked that “direct discrimination” arises up, if to one man belong with a less preference, than to other, and also belonged or will belong in an analogical situation on the basis of racial or ethnic belonging”.

Racism almost in all countries identical, and you can receive the passport and go to America, but also there precisely same discrimination. With the us passport there in general it is necessary to be accurate - not to lose and that on passport renewal will leave a lot of time and corresponding authorities can punish you.

An example of it can be a department that on a reception on work, which renounces to accept statements about a reception on work from Gipsy, or establishment on distributing of habitation which intentionally selects the gipsies of apartment with a bad living accommodation.

“Indirect discrimination” takes place, when “outwardly a neutral norm, criterion or practice puts the representatives of some minority in especially unprofitable position as compared to other persons, exept for the cases, when this norm, criterion or practice are fairly justified a legitimate purpose, and a method of achievement of this purpose is suitable and necessary”. As an example it can be shops, where it is forbidden to enter in long skirts, or prohibition to enter in public institution with head-dress.

Though these rules are neutral in regard to ethnic, actually can preferentially put in unprofitable situations those certain groups of minorities which prefer to carry long skirts or head-dresses.

In some countries in which the European center on rights for gipsies works, many consider that gipsies are not exposed to discrimination, because constitution or other law is declared some the discrimination illegal, or straight acknowledges gipsies as minority of this country. Such misunderstanding of idea of discrimination quite often meets in today's Europe.

That in your country there are constitutional or other statutory provisions, forbidding discrimination, it does not yet mean that in your country it is not discrimination. Law, forbidding discrimination is only an instrument in a struggle against discrimination. In actual fact during a day you can repeatedly exposed to discrimination.

Only in few cases discrimination can be legal. Direct discrimination arises up then, when at a hire for job “authentic professional qualification” is taken into account. For example, limit for reception of applications on work as a rabbi only from the people of judaic creed can be not illegal, or to accept a gipsy which will be responsible for work with gipsies. Thus, in the special cases, a law assumes indirect discrimination. A declarant can assert about practice disproportionate of unprofitable positions, tested one or another racial or ethnic group, but a responsible person possesses a right, fastened in a law, to prove that an action pursues a legitimate purpose, and that it affects all without exception, and it is reasonable. An example can be a building, where all workers are under an obligation to carry helmets for safety. This policy can indirectly discrimination the certain groups of people which carrying of such head-dresses is forbidden. However, an employer can justify oneself the necessity of observance of this rule, and declare that in this case, a legitimate purpose provides safety of workers, that this necessity is proportional a risk, and that carrying of helmets is a reasonable requirement for a labour protection.

How to recognize that I am illegally discriminated? How can I rotin that had illegal discrimination?

Majority from us knows, how to recognize overt discriminatory acts. Unfortunately, they are frequent in Europe. Maybe, it renounced to serve you in bar or restaurant, or you have an acquaintance, which a waiter or proprietor declared that he did not “serve gipsies”? Do you know someone, who was said no in-process, apartment or medical service, only because he/she is gipsy? Did you see a sign of prohibition “gipsies” or “romies”? All of it is obvious discriminatory actions. And in such cases ERRC can prove that discrimination happened, using documents or signs of prohibition, confirmative it, and also having regard to the statements of eyewitnesses of discriminatory action.

Direct discrimination can take place, when words “rom” or “gipsy” were not used in an obvious kind, but it is possible to prove that discrimination happened. For example, today many bars and restaurants refuse on an entrance gipsies and other people with the dark color of skin under pretence of that visitors must have “membership in a club”, or it is talked that here private evening-party passes. Often gipsies, handings in applications about a reception on work, get a refuse, in spite of the fact that it was consented to accept them by phone, but it is talked at meeting, that vacant places already are not present, and someone was accepted already into vacant place, which intersted by a gipsy.

How does a man can to prove that in this case discriminatory action happened? In Central and East Europe some organizations used a method “verification”. For example, gipsies and no-gipsies (thus their qualification, clothes etc., were practically identical) handed in applications about a reception on work, about rent of apartment, or set forth for a restaurant or on disco, where, on suspicions, regularly there was discrimination of gipsies. And if they will belong othergates to no-gipsies, than to the gipsies (for example, gipsies will be asked to produce a member's ticket at an entrance on disco, and then they will say no, and it will be let other to pass on disco, not asking about member's tickets), the careful and detailed testimonies of “investigators” must be writtenin. These testimonies form proof of being done discriminatory action, and in many countries they can be used in a court. Detailed information about this method you can get, visiting a site ERRC: http://errc.org/rr_nr3_2000/legal_defence.shtml, or, contacting directly with the office of ERRC.