In a decision of 28 June COHRE v. France, no. 63/2010 [PDF], which was only recently made public, the European Committee of Social Rights has found the French zero tolerance policy towards East European Roma living in illegal camps to be in violation of the European Social Charter. The case, which was lodged by the NGO Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions COHRE , concerns the eviction and expulsion measures announced by French president Sarkozy in the summer of 2010. Hundreds of illegal camps were dismantled and thousands of Roma were expelled to Romania and Bulgaria. Most expulsions took place on a “voluntary” basis, in exchange for the payment of 300 euro per adult and 100 euro per child.
The Committee first considered the complaint under Art. E the principle of non-discrimination in conjunction with Art. 31, § 2 of the European Social Charter. The latter provision concerns the right to housing and particularly requires states to “take measures designed to prevent and reduce homelessness with a view to its gradual elimination.” According to the Committee’s case-law the illegal occupation of a site or dwelling may justify the eviction of illegal occupants. The Committee however requires that the criteria of illegal occupation must not be unduly wide; that the eviction takes place in accordance with the applicable rules of procedure; that these rules are sufficiently protective of the rights of the persons concerned; and that the eviction is carried out in conditions that respect the dignity of the persons concerned. The authorities must moreover take steps to rehouse or financially assist these persons.
The Committee considered that France had failed to demonstrate that the forced evictions were carried out in conditions that respected their dignity, or that the Roma were offered alternative accommodation. Furthermore these evictions took place against a background of ethnic discrimination, Roma stigmatisation and constraint, in the form of the threat of immediate expulsion from France. The Committee attached considerable weight to the fact that a particular ethnic group was explicitly singled out. Therefore the Committee ruled that the evictions constituted a clear and direct discrimination, in violation of Art. E in conjunction with Art. 31, § 2 of the Charter. (via Strasbourg Observers)
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