The complaint marks a turning point in the Committee’s work, being the first time it has been asked and agreed to re-examine an issue that it has previously considered. In returning to this issue, the Committee found that not only had Greece made insufficient progress in implementing recommendations from the previous decision but it had also committed significant new breaches of its housing obligations. The result is that the housing situation for most Roma families has worsened in the last five years. Commenting on the decision, Iain Byrne, a Senior Lawyer at INTERIGHTS who worked on the case, said: “This decision clearly demonstrates that governments can no longer fail to implement their economic and social rights obligations and expect to be let off the hook. By dismissing the Greek Government’s objections to a re-examination of the complaint, the Committee has sent a clear signal that victims should not be denied access to justice. It is to be hoped that, in contrast to its record over the last five years, the Greek Government will take concrete action to address the Committee’s serious concerns.”
Drawing on a large amount of material presented by the complainants, together with the findings of a number of UN, Council of Europe and national experts, the Committee found significant evidence that many Roma continue to live in housing which fails to meet minimum standards of habitability and infrastructure. Many settlements consist solely of prefabricated housing with no electricity, running water or waste collection. The Committee dismissed the Government’s arguments that Greek legislation provides adequate safeguards for the prevention of discrimination, emphasising that in general, but in particular in the case of the Roma, merely ensuring identical treatment as a means of protection against any discrimination is not sufficient. Instead, real and effective equality requires taking into account the different situation that the Roma find themselves. The Committee also concluded that the Government failed to demonstrate that either in law or practice there was sufficient provision for consultation with those to be affected by eviction, including reasonable notice and information on the provision of alternative accommodation. In summary, “no serious efforts are being made to find alternative sites or accommodation.”
In a finding that could also impact on access to justice for other marginalised communities, the Committee also deemed that the legal recourse available was not sufficiently accessible. With many Roma families unaware of the right to challenge an eviction notice, for example, the Committee found that “[t]he special circumstances of Roma families threatened by eviction means that special support should be available including targeted advice on availability of legal aid and on appeals.” The Committee concluded unanimously that there had been a violation of (a) Article 16 of the Charter on the grounds that the different situation of Roma families is not sufficiently taken into account with the result that a significant number of Roma families continue to live in conditions that fail to meet minimum standards and (b) Article 16 of the Charter on the grounds that Roma families continue to be forcibly evicted in breach of the Charter and the legal remedies generally available are not sufficiently accessible to them.
Panayote Dimitras, spokesperson for Greek Helsinki Monitor, said: “The Government must admit that the Roma housing program failed; that most housing loans did not help Roma move out from destitute settlements into adequate homes; that hundreds of forced evictions have been taking place instead. Appropriate authorities must investigate these charges and punish those found responsible. The Government should appoint new persons to implement a new holistic and effective integration plan so as to execute the double Special Charter conviction and avoid a third one in a few years. This new approach requires that authorities work directly with destitute Roma and those really representing them, rather than state-appointed assimilated Roma 'leaders'.”
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