Addressing it means perhaps asking more of teachers than of any other public employees. However, many of them are woefully unprepared for this responsibility. But anti-racist education is challenging, and not only for those who are committed to the promises of equality and social justice. In a country like Romania where Roma children continue to be segregated in schools, their education produces anxiety, not only among the teachers but also among the children themselves, Roma and non-Roma alike.
Children can show implicit racial bias from a young age and, if not addressed in schools and in the family, this can turn into discriminatory behavior around ethnicity, gender, age, and sexual orientation. Therefore, when the Roma are racialized in public and private conversations in Romania, they are viewed through social and cultural lenses.
Racism means slavery, imperialism, colonialism, Nazism, the Holocaust and apartheid, occurrences and episodes in the history of other countries. Few Romanians know that until the Roma were slaves of monasteries and boyars or that there was a coordinated state policy of extermination against them during the early s. Many Romanian educators and politicians do not acknowledge the negative and traumatic impact of Roma slavery.
The historical significance of slavery is however relevant to contemporary anti-Roma racism. When presented with such examples, what becomes apparent is that for all the progress made in transforming the teaching and curricula in Romanian schools during the last three decades, much remains to be done.
How is it possible in to bring such a discredited notion as slavery into a discussion about the educational opportunities of Roma children? It is not only offensive, but also incredibly short-sighted. It is not only the standard here in the United States. It has been adopted as the standard in Europe, in Canada, and in other countries, to make it clear that human rights violators will not be able to hide their illicit funds in our banking system or visit our country.
Perhaps our strongest contribution is the oversight hearings that we hold. But just last week we had a hearing in the Helsinki Commission on how we can prevent atrocities from occurring in the first place. So I am very proud of the accomplishments of the commission. So it is our responsibility to challenge when Russia violates those provisions or when we see violations in Turkey—any member State, we can challenge.
But we also have to do our own self-evaluation. As Chairman of the commission, I have been using that opportunity to question conduct in our own country when it does not match the responsibilities that we should have. We saw that in the past in regard to the torture issues in Guantanamo Bay. My participation in the Helsinki Commission goes back to my early days in the House of Representatives and some of my proudest moments of representing our country on the international stage.
Let me just give you a few examples. That is when the Soviet tanks were in Vilnius. That is when the Soviet Union was demonstrating oppression against the people of the Baltic States. It was very interesting. But we had a meeting with Boris Yeltsin, who at that time was the chair of the parliament, and we got great visibility.
And Yeltsin supported our efforts to condemn the Russian use of force. I have been to Germany several times. My first trip on behalf of the Helsinki Commission was when it was a divided country, and we went to East Berlin. We were the voices for those oppressed people whose voices could not otherwise be heard, and we gave them hope that one day they would see freedom.
I then returned when we were literally taking down the Berlin Wall, and I joined in taking down part of the Berlin Wall. I have part of that as a prized possession in my home. I have returned to Germany as a united country and see what a democratic Germany means and the work of our commission to bring down the Iron Curtain. Germany is now a leading democratic state and a great ally of the United States. I have been to Kyiv, Ukraine, on several occasions.
I was there during the Maidan protests, where the people demanded democracy. And then I had a chance to return and monitor the elections in Ukraine with Senator Portman—again, a country that has been able to rid itself of the oppression of the Soviet Union.
I have been very active in the Helsinki Commission in regards to the Parliamentary Assembly. I chaired one of their three standing committees. I had a chance to become Vice-President at the Parliamentary Assembly. It points out the bipartisan nature of the Helsinki Commission and our work on the international platform.
I want to acknowledge one individual who recently announced that she is retiring, Erika Schlager, after 34 years of service to the Commission and to the global community. She earned her A. Quite a record. She used that academic preparation to make a difference in the world—and what a difference she made.
Erika has been an unfailing professional in her dedication to doing whatever is necessary to ensure that the commission meets its mandate and defends human rights abroad. Her deep expertise, which she has honed over decades of work, is renowned both among policy professionals in the United States and in the countries of Central Europe that she followed for the commission.
I have joined Erika in the crusade to speak up for the Roma population, a group that has been denied citizenship in so much of Europe. What a difference she has made in their lives. She has brought to my attention the candidacy of Ethel Brooks to be the first Roma board member of the U. Holocaust Memorial Museum. I know that Erika will continue to bring Roma perspective and history on the Holocaust to further the tolerance, education, and human rights work of the museum.
I have the honor of representing the Senate on the Holocaust Memorial Museum board, and I can tell you that Erika is so deeply respected by the professionals at that museum for the work she has done in furthering the goal of that institution to prevent atrocities against any groups of people.
She has worked closely with me over the years to raise concerns about the rise of Holocaust revisionism in countries like Hungary and Poland; to foster implementation of the Terezin Declaration on Holocaust Era Assets measures to right the economic wrongs that accompanied the Holocaust; and to hold accountable a French railway that transported thousands of Holocaust victims to their deaths.
She worked on all of these issues and made significant progress. Erika has been instrumental in ensuring that the Helsinki Commission works to hold the United States accountable for our own human rights record, examining U. In addition to her many professional milestones and achievements, Erika retires from the commission having left a deeply personal mark on those she worked with, from diplomats and civil servants to the staff of the Helsinki Commission.
She is a natural teacher with a gift of taking a complex issue and distilling it in a way that makes it both relevant and accessible. Erika has taught our diplomats at the Foreign Service Institute and spoken at international meetings and at universities across the nation and around the world.
In so doing, she has repeatedly demonstrated how deeply she cares, not just for the work she has dedicated her career to, but also for the people whose great privilege it is to call her a colleague and a friend. I will say on a personal basis that I have benefited so much from her friendship, from her understanding, from her strategic thinking, from where we can make a difference. We know there are a lot of problems around the world. But Erika helped us focus on areas where we can make a difference, and thanks to her input, we have made a difference.
I know I speak on behalf of all Helsinki Commission members and staff and scores of other individuals—many who may not know her name—and groups concerned about advancing human rights around the globe and here at home when I say how we will miss Erika. Be not simply good; be good for something. She has made an enormous difference, and she will continue to do so.
I wish her all the best with respect to her future endeavors. I know we will continue to hear from her. Thank you, Erika, for the way you served the commission, our country, and the global community.
Meanwhile, several countries are deliberately spurning their OSCE commitments to human rights, democracy, and the rule of law. Other shared challenges include combating human trafficking, countering terrorism and corruption, and protecting vulnerable communities, including migrants, from discrimination and violence.
Related Information Witness Biography. Helsinki Commission, on June 3, Chairman Sen. Ben Cardin MD and commission leaders Sen. Roger Wicker MS and Rep. The defense of human rights and democracy looks different now than it did during the Cold War, but we continue to unite over the same resilient principles and commitment to fundamental freedoms.
The agreement created new opportunities to engage with European partners on human rights, cooperative security, economic opportunities, and territorial disputes, and the commission played an integral role in ensuring that human rights became a key component of U.
Forty-five years after its founding, the Helsinki Commission continues to engage with participating States to confront severe and persistent violations of human rights and democratic norms. Since its establishment, the Helsinki Commission has convened more than public hearings and briefings. It regularly works with U. Ben Cardin MD , commission leaders the late Rep.
Alcee L. Hastings FL and Sen. Gregory Meeks NY introduced resolutions in the U. Senate and the U. House of Representatives celebrating Romani American heritage. Chairman Cardin, Sen. Wicker, and Rep. They enrich the fabric of our nation and strengthen the transatlantic bond. We applaud the efforts to promote transnational cooperation among Roma launched at the historic First World Romani Congress on April 8, The resolutions also commemorate the destruction of the Romani camp at Auschwitz when, on August , , Nazis murdered between 4, and 4, Romani men, women, and children in gas chambers in a single night, and commend the U.
Holocaust Memorial Museum for its critically important role in promoting remembrance of the Holocaust and educating audiences about the genocide of Roma. In addition to regularly meeting with Roma from across Europe, he supported efforts in Romania to address the legacy of Roma enslavement; criticized the mass expulsions of Roma from France, fingerprinting of Roma in Italy, and destruction of the historic Romani neighborhood Sulukule in Istanbul; and condemned proposals to restrict births of Roma in Bulgaria and racist violence against Roma wherever it occurred.
Hastings supported the work of the U. The Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe works with national and local governments, civil society and international organizations to promote equal opportunities for and the protection of the human rights of Roma. It has promoted the enduring value of multilateralism and fought to ensure that the United States lives up to our core values, remaining a beacon of hope to those who are oppressed.
Over the past year, the world has suffered the crippling impact of COVID, which has disproportionately affected our most vulnerable citizens and allowed some governments to exploit the pandemic to limit fundamental freedoms.
Racist violence has once again reared its ugly head in many OSCE participating States, including our own. Corruption threatens peace, prosperity, and human rights across the region, and the Kremlin remains intransigent in its overt violence against its neighbors as well as its covert attempts to undermine democratic institutions elsewhere. These challenges may seem daunting, but my fellow commissioners and I will always fight to promote human rights and fundamental freedoms, encourage tolerance within societies, battle corruption, and defend the principles of liberty and sovereignty.
He is an outspoken champion for human rights and throughout his career in public service has advocated for accountability and transparency measures to promote good governance and to combat corruption. Chairman Cardin is the lead author of the Sergei Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, a law that imposes sanctions on Russian individuals and entities responsible for the death of Russian lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, as well as individuals who commit gross violations of human rights against rights defenders in Russia.
He also authored the Global Magnitsky Human Rights and Accountability Act, which gives the United States the power to deny travel and banking privileges to individuals worldwide who commit gross violations of human rights against rights defenders and dissidents, and leaders who commit acts of significant corruption.
Roger Wicker MS introduced the Countering Russian and Other Overseas Kleptocracy CROOK Act, which would establish an anti-corruption action fund to provide extra funding during historic windows of opportunity for reform in foreign countries and streamline work strengthening the rule of law abroad.
The provision requires extractive companies listed on U. Revenue transparency increases energy security and creates U. It also provides information so that people in resource-rich countries can hold their leaders accountable for the money made from their oil, gas and minerals. Helsinki Commission leaders Rep. Hastings FL , Sen. Roger Wicker MS , Rep.
Joe Wilson SC , and Sen. I urge my colleagues to join me in commemorating this important day that reminds us that the fight for justice is far from over.
Madam Speaker, I rise today to discuss the work of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the Helsinki Commission and its continued importance in addressing challenges in our country and abroad.
For over four decades, the Helsinki Commission has championed human rights, democracy, and comprehensive security across the 57 North American, European, and Central Asian countries that make up the region of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe OSCE. As Chair of the Helsinki Commission during the th Congress, I worked with my House and Senate colleagues to continue the Commission's longstanding efforts to monitor participating States compliance with the Helsinki Accords. The importance of election observation in our country and abroad, restorative justice, the safety of journalists, and the global impact of George Floyd's tragic death on racial justice efforts were just some of the issues the Commission addressed last Congress, in addition to our continued focus on Russia, Ukraine, the Balkans and continued democratic development in the region.
This report summarizes the Commission's activities, as well as recommendations critical for the continued promotion of democracy and U. Madam Speaker, I look forward to continuing this critically important work during the th Congress. The ongoing impact of COVID on security, the economy, the environment and the human rights and democratic development of the 57 OSCE States remained the focus of the annual gathering.
Supported by the U. Helsinki Commission, the U. Delegation remained actively engaged, fielding a bicameral, bipartisan delegation of 10 Members of Congress who participated remotely in the debates.
Unlike other OSCE bodies, countries are represented based on population rather than each having a single seat at the table the United States has the largest representation with 17 seats , and decision-making is based on a majority vote rather than consensus. Despite a busy congressional schedule, the members of the U. Delegation successfully raised critical country, issue, and institutional concerns, including the attempted poisoning and incarceration of Alexei Navalny, Russian aggression in Ukraine, the brutal crackdown in Belarus and corruption and authoritarian tendencies elsewhere in the OSCE region.
Active U. Such a large delegation of Members of Congress reflected the diversity of opinion in the United States, setting an example of openness and honesty for others to follow, deflecting accusations of double standards on U. Or, if you are already a subscriber Sign in. Other options. Close drawer menu Financial Times International Edition.
Search the FT Search. World Show more World. US Show more US. However, the benefits of broadcasting police brutality online came with a cost — the additional abuse directed towards the Roma on the platforms.
Gelu Duminica, a Roma activist and lecturer in sociology at Bucharest University, argued that the discrimination which the Roma endured from the police was echoed in the discrimination they faced online. Photo: Andrei Petre. The police raid that prompted the torture allegations targeted a Roma settlement on the outskirts of Bolintin-Vale, a small town 30 km west of Bucharest.
The raid took place on April 18 last year, in the midst of one of the strictest lockdowns in Europe, during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic. An initial statement from the local police force, the Giurgiu County inspectorate, said officers had visited the settlement to check compliance with lockdown measures.
When contacted by BIRN, the force offered a different explanation, saying they raided the settlement after reports that a fight had broken out there. The lawsuit against the police was brought by Roma NGOs, who became aware of the video through social networks and the press. The evidence compiled by NGOs and lawyers acting for the Roma was passed, in line with Romanian procedure, to state prosecutors, who are expected to pursue the case against the police. Nearly a year since the raid however, the case appears to have stalled over efforts to identify the masked officers involved.
However, when similar cases of police brutality have been taken to the European Court of Human Rights, judges have typically ruled in favour of the Roma. On a visit to the Bolintin settlement last summer, BIRN spoke to several residents about what happened on the day of the raid. The residents said several police vehicles pulled up at the settlement for reasons that remain unclear. The officers ordered the women and children to stay indoors.
The men and boys were summoned into the yard, where they were ordered to lie down. They were reportedly hit by the officers as they complied with the orders.
Lying on the ground, they were also struck by telescopic batons.
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