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Persecution of the Roma in Kosovo and Discrimination against Aborigines in Australia is racially motivated

Göttingen/Luxemburg/Durban

31 August 2001 - The racist persecution of the Roma in Kosovo and the discrimination they experience while in exile in Germany is one of the two major issues that representatives of Gesellschaft für bedrohte Völker International (GfbV) / Society for Threatened Peoples International are seeking to raise at the World Conference against Racism in Durban. They also aim to call attention to the issue of racial discrimination suffered by Aborigines in Australia. The human rights organisation, committed to working on behalf of ethnic and religious minorities and possessing consultative status at the United Nations, has submitted Memoranda on each of these issues.

"Members of the Roma and other non-Albanian minorities such as Ashkali and Kosovo Egyptians have been subjected to stone-throwing, expulsion from their homes, physical and verbal abuse, rape and general humiliation in Kosovo, for no other reason but their ethnic identity," the GfbV Memorandum reports. Simply having a dark skin is enough to put you in danger on the streets of Kosovo. "This is racism in the heart of Europe, and delegates to the World Conference must take this on board", argued GfbV. Measures to guarantee protection for these minorities are urgently required. In spite of the presence of KFOR troops, supposedly there to protect them, the number of attacks on them has escalated during the first few months of this year. Of approximately 150,000 Roma, Ashkali and Kosovo Egyptians formerly living in Kosovo only approximately 10,000 are left - the rest have been forced to flee the country. Approximately 14,000 homes belonging to members of these minority groups have been set on fire and 74 out of approximately 314 villages and communities have been completely destroyed. These racially motivated crimes are directly attributable to extremist Albanians, many of them former members of the UCK forces. Their violent attacks are tolerated by the Albanian majority and from time to time even encouraged by them.

In the second Memorandum GfbV describe in detail the racist oppression suffered by Australia's indigenous inhabitants who have experienced social deprivation and discrimination on account of their racial identity. Aborigines have very restricted access to health care compared with the majority population. As a result the infant mortality rate is three times greater than the national average, life expectancy is approximately 20 years less than it is for "white" Australians and the incidence of life-threatening diseases such as diabetes and tuberculosis is up to one hundred times greater. Aborigine wages are often below the poverty line. Only 32% of aborigines have completed a basic vocational education compared with 73% of the majority population. Aborigines are over-represented in the prison population. The number of deaths among aborigines in custody is increasing. A strict legal code, particularly where minor offences are concerned, and a harsh youth justice system are particularly severe on aborigines. GfbV's Memorandum reviews and reiterates the criticism expressed by the UN Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination of the 1998 "Native Title Amendment Act", a legislative amendment that has deprived aborigines of the capacity to take legal action in land disputes.

Media release from Society for Threatened Peoples (Germany)

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