The Honourable Nicolas Sarkozy President, Republic of France Palais de l'Élysée 55 Rue du Faubourg Saint Honoré 75008 Paris, France Fax: +33 1 474-22-465 24 August 2010 Re:
Forced eviction and mass expulsion of Roma EU citizens from France
Dear Mr. President, The Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE) is an international human rights non-governmental organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with offices throughout the world. COHRE has consultative status with the United Nations and works to promote and protect the right to adequate housing for everyone, everywhere, including preventing or remedying forced evictions. COHRE also has consultative status with the Council of Europe and is authorized to lodge collective complaints before the European Committee of Social Rights. COHRE is gravely concerned about the forced eviction of Roma from camps in France and the mass expulsion of Roma EU citizens from France. As citizens of the European Union, the Roma residents in France enjoy the right to adequate housing as enshrined in Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights as well as Article 31 of the Revised European Social Charter, both of which have been ratified by France. As such, France has legal obligations to respect, protect and fulfil the right to adequate housing and to do so without discrimination. If Roma housing is indeed substandard, that fact demonstrates that France is unwilling or unable to meet its obligation to fulfil the right to adequate housing. In such a situation, also violating the obligation to respect the right to adequate housing by carrying out forced evictions only exacerbates the problem and adds to the violations of international human rights law. Furthermore, these actions by France violate the prohibition on racial discrimination enshrined in the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and rights guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights.
The mass expulsion of EU citizens, particularly on a racial or ethic basis, violates both Article 4 of Protocol 4 to the European Convention on Human Rights and Article E and Article 19(8) of the Revised European Social Charter, both of which prohibit “any measure compelling aliens, as a group, to leave a country, except where such a measure is taken on the basis of a reasonable and objective examination of the particular case of each individual”. Finally, since it appears that similarly situated non-Roma EU citizens are not suffering this level of reprisal, at a minimum these actions demonstrate an unlawful discriminatory effect if not outright discriminatory intent – either of which violate France’s legal obligations under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. Consequently, COHRE urges France to halt all further forced evictions and mass expulsions of Roma in France and to provide remedies to those already forcibly evicted and expelled, including the right to return and the right to housing and land restitution. Sincerely,
Salih Booker Executive Director Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE) cc: Minister Éric Besson French Ministry of Immigration Fax: +33 177726130/ 177726200 Email: eric.besson@iminidco.gouv.fr Viviane Reding Vice-President in charge of Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship European Commission Fax: +32-2 296 07 46 Morten Kjærum Director of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) Fax: +43 (1) 58030-699 Polonca Končar President of the European Committee of Social Rights Fax. +33 (0) 3 88 41 37 00 Thomas Hammarberg Commissioner for Human Rights Council of Europe Fax: + 33 (0)3 90 21 50 53 Raquel Rolnik UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing
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