Romania: Recent information on the Human Rights record of Romania

The Romanian government's staunch rejection of political or economic reform has made the country, in the words of Elzbieta Godziak, "the most egregious offender of human rights in Eastern Europe." [ Elzbieta Godziak, East to East: Refugees From Rumania to Hungary (Washington: Refugee Policy Group, 1988), p. 1.] David Binder of The New York Times adds, "There may not be individual cruelty, as in the reign of Vlad Dracula, but there is institutionalized misery and despair." [ David Binder, "The Cult of Ceausescu", The New York Times Magazine, 23 November 1986.] In a 1987 report, Amnesty International accuses Romania of a variety of human rights abuses regarding freedom of expression, legal rights, torture, intellectual rights, and minority and cultural rights. [ "Rights group accuses Romania of using harassment, torture" The Globe and Mail, 8 July 1987, A1.] Its 1988 report states that there are at least 35 known political prisoners in the country but that when the number of prisoners whose identity in not known are added, the total is up to several hundred. They are all being held for the non-violent expression of political rights or for trying to leave the country. [ Amnesty International, 1988 Report, (London: Amnesty International Publications, 1988), p. 210.]

There are no internal monitoring groups in Romania and the government consistently rejects inquiries by agencies outside the country as interference in its internal affairs. [ U.S. Department of State, Country Reports 1988, (Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1988), p. 1178.] Still, a variety of international agencies have published reports and condemnations since mid-1988.

In July 1988, the European Parliament condemned Romania's human rights policy especially with regards to minority rights. The Political commission of the European Parliament organized a public hearing on human rights in which a writer of Romanian origin, Eugene Ionescu, condemned the country's policy of "cultural genocide". [ Documentation Réfugiés, 9/18 July 1988, p. 7 and 14/23 February 1989, p. 10.]

The United Nations Commission on Human Rights has also been active in commenting on Romania's human rights record. On 9 March 1989, it passed a resolution which, "Expressed concern at the allegations of serious violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms in Romania," and noted "with concern that nationals of Romania...continue to seek protection and refuge...for reasons related to the serious violations of their human rights." [ United Nations, Economic and Social Council, "Draft Report of the Commission," E/CN.4/1989/L.11/Add.11, 9 March 1989.] The seriousness of Romanian violations can perhaps be seen in the fact that none of its East Bloc allies defended Romania and voted against the resolution. [ Documentation Réfugiés, 6/15 March 1989, pp. 9-10.] "International public opinion is very conscious that not only civil and political rights, but also social and cultural rights of individuals are not respected in Romania." [translation] [ Documentation Réfugiés, 24 February/ 5 March 1989, p. 9.]

The United Nations also began proceedings before the International Court of Justice to compel Romania to allow Dimitru Mazilu to travel to Geneva. He was commissioned by the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities to head a report on the treatment of youth in Romania. Mazilu was still under house arrest when the Secretary General of the United Nations published his report in August 1989. [Documentation Réfugiés, 23 August 1989, 28 August/6 September 1989; United Nations, Economic and Social Council, "Status of special rapporteurs," E/CN.4/1989/.L.11/Add.6, 6 March 1989, pp. 50-1; Radio Free Europe, "Weekly Record, 3-9 August 1989".]

On 16 March 1989, the EEC announced that it would be suspending trade negotiations with Romania. The announcement was linked to the country's human rights record. Also in March, over 140 Swiss parliamentarians signed a letter addressed to Ceausescu, which urged him to intercede to stop the planned demolition of thousands of villages in the country as part of a rationalization of agriculture. [ Documentation Réfugiés, 16/25 March 1989, p. 8.]

In June 1989, a human rights conference in Paris, under the auspices of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), accused Romania of locking up dissidents, forcibly relocating thousands into new housing projects and of destroying remnants of its rural past. During this conference, Romania refused to accept the CSCE principle obligating it to answer questions about alleged rights violations. [ "Soviets Protest Romanian Border Fence," The Ottawa Citizen, 24 June 1989, p. A6; "Rights Body Condemns 'Repressive' Romanians," The Globe and Mail [Toronto], 1 June 1989, p. A20.] In January 1989, Romania had signed a CSCE rights agreement in Vienna, but Ceausescu immediately stated that his country did not intend observing certain sections of the agreement. [ "Romania' darkness", The Economist, 22 April 1989, p. 16.]

One non-governmental monitoring agency that deals specifically with Romania is the League for the Defence of Human Rights in Romania. Founded in 1977, the Paris-based league was admitted to the Fédération International des Droits de l'Homme in May 1982. [ D. Boisvert, "La Roumanie," Courier de l'ACAJ, July-August 1986; "Rumania Is Said to Release Woman Jailed in Rights Case," The New York Times, 27 December 1987.]

There have been 16 amnesties in Romania since 1965. They have led to the release of varying numbers of political prisoners. The most recent was in January 1988 on the occasion of Ceausescu's 70th birthday, and it was expected that it would "result in the release of all known prisoners of conscience." [Amnesty International, Amnesty International Bulletin, April/May 1988, p. 10; Amnesty International, Urgent Action, AI Ind: EUR 39/03/88, Distr: UA/SC, 15 February 1988.] This amnesty was more generous than previous ones. It provided for the release of all prisoners serving sentences of 10 years and less. It also halved the sentences of those imprisoned for 10 to 20 years, and commuted all death penalties to 20 year sentences. [ Amnesty International, Urgent Action, 15 February 1988; "Amnistie en Roumanie," Le Devoir [Montréal], 29 January 1988.] Other amnesties occurred in 1981, August 1984, and June 1986, and October 1987. [ U.S. Department of State, Country Reports 1988, p. 1007; Amnesty International, Romania: Violations of Human Rights in the 1980s (London: Amnesty International Publications Ltd., 1987), p. 9. ] In the case of the October 1987 amnesty, Amnesty International reported that by the end of 1987, there were numerous new arrests of people "exercising their rights to freedom of expression." [ Amnesty International, Amnesty International Bulletin, October/November 1988, p. 19.]

For further information, please consult the attached documentation from the files of the IRBDC.