https://www.balcanicaucaso.org/eng/Areas/Bulgaria/Bulgaria-and-discrimination-there-is-progress-but-the-road-is-still-a-long-one-223123
“не
е създаден механизъм за мониторинг от страна на българските институции за
наблюдение или противодействие на случаи на расова или анти-ЛГБТИ
дискриминация”
A recent report by the European Commission against Racism and
Intolerance (ECRI) takes stock of the fight against discrimination in Bulgaria.
Progress has been registered in recent years, but many problems remain
unresolved
In the streets of Sofia - © Belish/Shutterstock
06/12/2022 - Francesco Martino Sofia
What emerges from the
latest report on Bulgaria by the European Commission against Racism and
Intolerance, an independent body created by the Council of Europe, is a picture
of lights and shadows, with significant improvements, but also numerous and
persistent gray areas.
The study, completed in June 2022, but made public in October,
starts off on some positive notes, recording progress compared to the previous
report dating back to 2014. Various developments have been recorded in Bulgaria
in recent years and praised by ECRI. First of all, the consolidation of the
activities of the Commission for the protection against
discrimination , a public institution created in 2005, which in the last five
years has finally received a more adequate economic endowment, allowing the
opening of new offices in the area, today reaching 24.
Among the actions against hate speech, the most significant, also
from a symbolic point of view, was the ban on holding the controversial
"Lukov Marsh", a demonstration held annually on February 18 in the
capital Sofia by ultra-nationalists and neo-Nazis in memory of General Hristo
Lukov, member of the pro-Nazi wing of the Bulgarian army, killed by communist
partisans in 1943. After years of heated controversy, in 2020 the Supreme
Administrative Court banned the nightly torchlight procession that crossed the
streets of the city centre, clearly referencing the choreography of the Third
Reich.
Some innovations have also been seen in the field of the fight
against discrimination against the LGBTI community, with an effort to create a
synergy between civil society actors and institutions: in 2019, such effort
culminated in the inclusion of NGOs active in the defence of LGBTI rights in
training of police bodies aimed at recognising and repressing hate crimes.
Of central importance for Bulgaria, home to one of the largest
Roma populations in the EU, is certainly the fight against discrimination on
ethnic and racial grounds. Efforts aimed at integrating the Roma community,
which remains highly discriminated and marginalised, have been made in the
field of education: in preschools, for example, Bulgarian classes have been
introduced for children of different mother tongue.
The practice of employing a mediator in the areas of healthcare,
education, and job search is increasingly frequent and widespread: an approach
that has shown positive results especially during the toughest periods of the
Covid-19 pandemic, when it was essential to overcome the wall of widespread
distrust of the community towards public institutions.
After the positive notes, however, the ECRI also raises numerous
and strong criticisms against the government in Sofia. Despite the commission's
repeated requests, for example, no monitoring mechanism has been created
by the Bulgarian institutions to monitor or counter incidents of racial or
anti-LGBTI discrimination. There is also a lack of in-depth studies
capable of providing a complete picture of the situation with respect to sexual
minorities in the country.
That the LGBTI community remains subject to numerous episodes of
discrimination, including violence, is demonstrated by the numerous attacks
suffered in Sofia by the LGBTI centre "Rainbow Hub". The last one
featured Boyan Rasate, leader of the far-right political organisation
"Bulgarian National Union", who devastated the centre together with a group of his
militants in October 2021.
After the attack, 11 foreign embassies in Sofia – including those
of the United States, France, and the United Kingdom – signed a joint letter of
protest. A few months later, Rasate was found guilty of "violating public
order" and sentenced to a fine .
Also in the field of discrimination on ethnic and racial grounds,
the ECRI report can only note the persistence of structural marginalisation of
the Roma community in Bulgaria, which according to estimates now makes up for
around 10% of the country's population. In recent years, attacks and assaults
against the community have continued.
Despite progress in the field of education, the school dropout
rate among young Roma remains very high, especially when compared to the rest
of the population, while the percentage of Roma persons with secondary and
university education (respectively 9% and 0.5%) remains much lower than the
average. Employment percentages are also concerning to say the least: if in
2021 the general unemployment rate stood at around 5.4%, in areas with a strong
Roma presence, such as the Stolipinovo district in Plovdiv, it largely exceeded
80%.
In recent years, the situation has been made even worse by the
Covid-19 pandemic, and by the subsequent prevention and containment measures
carried out by the Sofia authorities, which have particularly affected workers
in the Roma community, often employed in precarious jobs and in the informal
economy.
On the topic of ethnic, sexual, and workplace discrimination, the
first reflections on intersectionality have begun in Bulgaria in recent years,
so far limited to the more aware sectors of civil society, but yet to be
embraced by the institutions and the public opinion.
Among the pioneers, from this point of view, is Bulgarian NGO
Amalipe, which in September 2022 organised one of the first seminars on the subject with
the aim of introducing young Roma people to the basics of intersectional
discrimination, with particular reference to women and members of the Roma
LGBTI community.
Trade unions have also contributed to starting a discussion on
intersectionality in Bulgaria. In particular, in 2021, the Confederation of
Independent Trade Unions of Bulgaria (KNSB), one of the main trade unions in
the country, actively participated in a campaign led by the European Trade
Union Confederation to call for a stronger European-level
directive on pay transparency, and to push for a gradual alignment of
the wages of women – especially those part of discriminated or marginalised
groups or communities – with those of men at the European level.
This material is published as part of the project “INGRID.
Intersecting Grounds of Discrimination in Italy", co-financed by the
European Commission in the framework of the REC (Rights, Equality, Citizenship)
2014-2020 programme. The content of this article represents the point of view
of the authors only and is their sole responsibility. The EC takes no
responsibility for the use that may be made of the information contained
therein. Visit the page of project INGRID
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