Romania: Update to ROM30697.E of 10 December 1998 on the treatment by the state and by society of ethnic Ukrainians and Russians, and the state protection available to them (1999-March 2002)
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 26 March 2002 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | ROM38740.E |
| Reference | 7 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Romania: Update to ROM30697.E of 10 December 1998 on the treatment by the state and by society of ethnic Ukrainians and Russians, and the state protection available to them (1999-March 2002), 26 March 2002, ROM38740.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3df4be9e0.html [accessed 8 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Reports describing or specifying particular treatment reserved for ethnic Russians or ethnic Ukrainians by the state and society could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
However, in a report based on a symposium on interethnic relations in Romania held in Bucharest in July 2000, Mugur Isarescu, a former prime minister, indicated that Ukrainians represented 0.3 per cent of Romania's population and Russians/Lipovans 0.2 per cent (2000, 23).
Mugur Isarescu stated that members of the Ukrainians' Union of Romania and of the Community of Russians and Lipovans in Romania had been elected either as mayors or counsellors in June 2000 local elections (ibid., 26).
According to Prime Minister Adrian Nastase, members of the Russian minority in Romania have been able to preserve their spiritual, ethnic and religious traditions by maintaining a bond with their motherland while enjoying the same rights as other Romanian citizens (Rompres 21 Feb. 2002).
With reference to a seminar on "inter-ethnic dialogue" organized in Sfantu Gheorghe (central Romania) by the press association of national minorities between 1 and 4 July 1999 (Rompres 5 July 1999), Rompres, a government news agency (ibid. 21 Feb. 2002), reported representatives from publications intended for the Armenian, Albanian, Serbian, Croatian, Russian, Italian and Tartar minorities in Romania as saying that members of their respective minority were "rather satisfied with their rights" and were free to use both their mother tongue and Romanian (ibid. 5 Jul. 1999).
According to Mugur Isarescu, the Treaty of Mutual Understanding, Cooperation and Good Neighbourhood between Romania and Ukraine has provisions on the protection of national minorities (2000, 24). For example, the Treaty establishes two "Euro-regions" respectively named The Upper Prut and The Lower Danube with a view to promoting direct contacts and collaboration between ethnic Ukrainians living in Romania and other Romanian citizens, and between ethnic Romanians living in Ukraine and other Ukrainian citizens (ibid.).
In its Opinion on Romania, the Council of Europe's Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities referred to reports that although education in Ukrainian is available to members of the Ukrainian minority, there were cases in the 1999-2000 school year of classes offered in Ukrainian schools which were held in Romanian, instead of Ukrainian (10 Jan. 2002).
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
Council of Europe, Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities [Strasbourg]. 10 January 2002. Opinion on Romania, Adopted on 6 April 2001.
Isarescu, Mugur. 2000. "The Romanian Model of Interethnic Relations." Interethnic Relations in Post-Communist Romania. Edited by Lucian Nastasa and Levente Salat. Proceedings of the Conference "The Romanian Model of Ethnic Relations. The Last Ten Years, the Next Ten Years." Bucharest, 7-8 July 2000. Cluj-Napoca: Ethnocultural Diversity Resource Center.
Rompres [Bucharest, in English]. 21 February 2002. "Romanian PM Discusses Ties, EU, NATO, Moldova in Interview With Russian Dailies." (FBIS-EEU-2002-0221 21 Feb. 2002/WNC)
_____. 5 July 1999. "National Minorities Reported Content With Their Conditions in Romania." (BBC Monitoring 5 July 1999/LEXIS)
Additional Sources Consulted
IRB Databases
Internet sites including:
Amnesty International
Association for the Defence of Human Rights in Romania – the Helsinki Committee (APADOR-CH) [Bucharest]
The Balkan Human Rights Web Pages
European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI) [Flensburg]
European Commission [Brussels]
European Commission Against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI)
Freedom House
Human Rights Watch
International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights
Minorities at Risk Project [College Park, Md]
Open Society Institute Monitoring the EU Accession Process: Minority Protection in Romania
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL)
US Department of State. Country Reports on Human Rights Practices.
World News Connection (WNC)
