Human rights reports on
their oppression & poverty

"Roma Minority: there have been reports that Roma rights issues are similar in profile to those elsewhere in Central and Eastern Europe: that is, that Roma face racial discrimination and other exclusionary forces. According local Roma activists, while the human rights situation in Belarus is generally very poor, Roma are in an especially vulnerable situation. In particular, Roma reportedly fall victim to police violence; they have limited access to education; many Roma lack the personal documents they need to access fundamental rights, including identity cards, residence permits, etc.; large numbers of Roma live in unintegrated settlements in substandard conditions, often without basic infrastructure and/or utilities; and the government has failed to date to undertake relevant measures to improve the situation."

"There have been reports that Roma living in the areas affected by the Chernobyl nuclear reactor accident in 1986 may have been disproportionately excluded from preventive and/or ameliorative medical measures, such as regular doses of iodine, required for the prevention of thyroid cancer. Roma in Belarus frequently do not challenge discriminatory treatment and human rights violations at the relevant institutions because they consider authorities undemocratic and/or unreceptive too such complaints, as well as for reasons related to their historic exclusion. In addition to the issues raised above, a significant number of Roma have not yet exchanged their old identification documents for new documents, and may have missed the deadline in 2004 for the exchange of such documents. Such persons are at risk to be deprived from the right to vote and other goods and services."

"Hate speech against Roma takes place in the media, portraying Roma as thieves and criminals, thereby provoking high levels of intolerance and perceptions of Roma as an outcast group. Discriminatory treatment of Roma by local authorities deepens the inequality of Roma in their access to fundamental rights." ₅