On October 29, 2015, in the city of Zolotonosha, Cherkasy Oblast, a conflict occurred between a local Roma individual and representatives of law enforcement agencies. This was reported to us by Volodymyr Bambula, the head of the Cherkasy Regional Public Organization “Romaní Rota,” who resides in Zolotonosha.
Local community activists have stated that there were unlawful actions by law enforcement officials after the conflict: police officers entered the residences of Roma families late in the evening and took Roma individuals to the district police department. After the intervention of the Office of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, the detentions of Roma individuals ceased.
The conflict was reported by the journalist of the Roma radio Chiriklo http://radiochiriklo.com and human rights activist Olha Vesnyanka. Volodymyr Bambula, the head of the Cherkasy Regional Public Organization “Romaní Rota,” spoke about the atmosphere of fear and danger that prevailed in the Roma settlement. The Roma in Zolotonosha were afraid of further unauthorized raids, the use of force, and detentions based on ethnicity and appearance.
Community representatives requested immediate assistance to halt possible misconduct by law enforcement officials, to cease the mass detention of people based solely on their ethnicity.
In order to clarify the situation and prevent possible human rights violations, Zemfira Kondur, the Vice President of the Chiriklo Foundation and the National Coordinator of the ROMED Program, contacted the representative of the Office of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, Mykhailo Chaplyga. Despite the late hour, the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, Valeriya Lutkovska, and her office employees – Mykhailo Chaplyga and Yuriy Bilousov – started investigating the situation. Thanks to their efforts, along with concerned journalists and human rights defenders, the mass detention of Roma individuals was stopped by midnight.
Unfortunately, in Ukraine, practices such as mass detentions of Roma, ethnic profiling, and human rights violations against the Roma population are widespread. The city of Zolotonosha in the Cherkasy Oblast is not the only place where representatives of law enforcement authorities exceed their powers and violate human rights. These actions hinder the implementation of the “Roma Strategy” and create fear among the Roma population, many of whom are unaware of their rights. Over the past year, similar human rights violations against Roma have been recorded in Odesa (Izmail) and Zakarpattia (Uzhhorod).
Prejudices and negative stereotypes against Roma are widespread in society and even among law enforcement officials in the OSCE region, often resulting in discrimination in the actions of law enforcement authorities, including the disproportionate or excessive use of force by the police. During the Human Dimension Implementation Meeting of the OSCE in Warsaw on September 30, 2015, it was discussed that OSCE participating states should do more to combat discrimination in the activities of law enforcement authorities against Roma and Sinti communities, as well as to address violence against Roma by law enforcement authorities. More information can be found here: http://www.osce.org/odihr/187121
The Roma community, activists from Cherkasy, Kyiv, Odesa, and all of Ukraine are grateful to the Office of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights and the team of Roma Radio Chiriklo for their support.
