Case Study On Hungarian Romani Refugee Claimants In Canada

Introduction

We submit that Mr. Alexandru Kolompár and his family are Convention refugees in accordance with section 96 of the IRPA. They have a well-founded fear of persecution for reason of race in their country of origin, Hungary. Mr. Kolompár and his family are Hungarians of Romani descent. They have been subjected to discrimination based on negative stereotypical depictions of Romani people in Europe. A far-right extremist group, including a group of former national soldiers attacked Mr. Kolompár’s family home with Molotov cocktails and a spray of gunfire. During this violent attack, Mr. Kolompár was shot in his arm. The Kolompár family did not report this incident to local police because they believed the Hungarian police have shown themselves to be indifferent to the problems faced by the Romani community.

Due to the discrimination and escalating violence directed towards Romani people in Hungary, Mr. Kolompár and his family have a well-founded fear of persecution and believe they have no other choice but to leave Hungary. Mr. Kolompár and his family are citizens of Hungary and do not hold a citizenship of any other country. They arrived in Canada in November 2017, and are presently before the Canadian Refugee Protection board seeking Convention refugee status. Hungary is located in Central Europe, northwest of Romania (“The World Factbook”) (see Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 in Appendix).

According to the same source, the Romani people make up only 3. 2 percent of the population within Hungary (“The World Factbook”). The election on March 13, 2017, brought the Fidesz-KDNP political party into power with 49. 3 percent of the votes (“The World Factbook”). Chief of State, Janos Ader, was re-elected as president and the Head of Government, Viktor Orban, was re-elected as Prime Minister (“The World Factbook”). With 19. 1 percent of the votes, the Jobbik party received the second-largest number of votes (“The World Factbook”). Well-FoundednessThe United States Department of State’s report outlines that NGOs in the country have made known “the segregation of Romani children in schools and frequent misdiagnosis of Romani children as mentally disabled” (“Hungary” 30). This practice continues despite the introduction of laws against segregation in schools and multiple court rulings affirming these laws (31). The Roma Education Fund reports that 20 percent of Romani children complete secondary school education, which is disproportionately low compared to an 80 percent of non-Romani children who attain the same level of education (31). The treatment of Romani children in educational institutions in Hungary is concerning to Mr. Kolompár because he has three young children.

The UN Human Rights Committee in a 2018 report expressed that Hungary has a "prevalence of hate crimes” and “hate speech targeting minorities" (Concluding Observations 3). The report further indicates that "police often fail to investigate and prosecute credible claims of hate crimes and criminal hate speech" (4). Similar police attitudes were also reported by the Minority Rights Group International, which stated that the Romani population is subject to "continued hostility" from police forces in the country (“Hungary- Roma”). The police engage in discriminatory practices including racial profiling (“Hungary- Roma”). Mr. Kolompár’s testimony, he recounted a Molotov cocktail and gunfire attack on his home by a far-right extremist group. The Human Rights First Report states that there was a spree of similar attacks in 2008 and 2009 (Jobbik Party in Hungary). In these “Roma Murders” cases, the perpetrators used Molotov cocktails to attack Roma homes (Jobbik Party in Hungary). In some instances, as the Romani people were fleeing their burning homes they were shot at close range (Jobbik Party in Hungary). Mr. Kolompár was one of those victims. Six Roma Hungarians were killed in these attacks and another 55 people were wounded, most of whom were of Romani descent (Jobbik Party in Hungary).

Following the attack on Mr. Kolompár’s family home, they did not report the incident to authorities because they believed the Hungarian Police Force would be disinterested in his complaint due their race. Mr. Kolompár is not unreasonable in his views of the police, as many NGOs and victims of similar attacks complained that the police mishandled the investigation of their complaints and did not bring cases against the known perpetrators (Jobbik Party in Hungary). The Jobbik Party is an increasingly popular, far-right extremist, anti-Roma Hungarian political party (Jobbik Party in Hungary). In 2007 during the pre-election campaign, the Jobbik party continuously used the derogatory term “Gypsycrime” to imply that the Roma community is “genetically prone to becoming criminals” (Jobbik Party in Hungary). Furthermore, the party used the slogan “You want to get rid of parasitism? Then vote for Jobbik!” in their campaign ads. The Human Rights First report informs that there is some evidence to suggest that public perceptions held by and of the Roma community are being influenced by this party (Jobbik Party in Hungary).

A study by the Equal Treatment Authority (qtd. in Jobbik Party in Hungary) found that 95 percent of Romani people believe that racial discrimination towards them has been rising throughout the country in recent years. Moreover, a 2011 survey found that 60% of Hungarians held the belief that “the inclination to criminality is in the blood of gypsies” (Jobbik Party in Hungary). These survey results support Mr. Kolompár’s views regarding the situation of the Romanies and the increasing hostility directed towards their community. PersecutionEvidently, in Mr. Kolompár’s case, the agents of persecution are both state and non-state agents. The Hungarian state contributes to the persecution of Mr. Kolompár and the Romanies by failing to desegregate schools and wrongfully diagnosing Roma children as mentally disabled in order to place them in special schools or classes (“Hungary” 30, 31). This misdiagnosis results in these children to receive a lower level and quality of education compared to the Non-Roma population (31). Additionally, officials of the Jobbik political party have spread hateful and racist rhetoric that has perpetuated the adverse stereotypes and incited violence against Romanis (Jobbik Party in Hungary). This rhetoric has further provoked discrimination by non-state agents (Jobbik Party in Hungary).

Non-state agents play a significant role in the persecution of the claimant and his family. Police knowingly tolerate discriminatory and violent behaviours and thus condone the violence towards Romanies (Concluding Observations 3). They are unwilling to protect the Roma community from acts of violence and themselves engage in discriminatory practices (“Hungary- Roma”). The state’s active contribution to the persecution, combined with their unwillingness to protect and deter violence against Romanies, make it impossible for Mr. Kolompár and his family to safely live a normal life anywhere within Hungary. As the state is an agent of persecution, there are no viable Internal Flight Alternatives. The UNHCR Handbook, paragraph 51 states that “a threat to life or freedom on account of race…is always persecution” (Handbook and Guidelines, 13). Mr. Kolompár and his family were violently attacked in their home solely because of their race. This threat to life is prevalent as “between January 2009 and September 2013 there were more than 100 cases of alleged hate-motivated violence targeting Roma and/or their property” (“Hungary- Roma”). The discrimination faced by the Romanies also justifies a claim of a well-founded fear of persecution on “cumulative grounds” (Handbook and Guidelines, 13). Discriminatory practices affect many areas of Mr. Kolompár’s life.

According to the United States Department of State’s report on Hungary, human rights NGOs state “that Roma suffered social and economic exclusion and discrimination in almost all fields of life” (“Hungary” 35).

Conclusion

We contend that the claimant and his family satisfy the requirements of a Convention refugee under section 96 of the IRPA. Romanies are subjected to discrimination in education, housing, employment, and law enforcement by the general Hungarian populous because of deeply rooted adverse stereotypes (“Hungary” 30, 35; “Hungary- Roma”). In recent years, these racist stereotypes have been further perpetuated by the increasingly influential Jobbik party (Jobbik Party in Hungary). Not only have the perceptions held by the Hungarian majority led to discrimination that has a detrimental impact on quality of life, it has also led to string of violent attacks against the Romanies (Jobbik Party in Hungary). Mr. Kolompár’s family was a victim of one such attack. Neither the attitudes of the Hungarian majority, nor the political situation has changed since the Kolompárs have arrive in Canada. Therefore, we submit they have an ongoing well-founded fear of facing persecution again if they return Hungary due of their race. We request that the board grant Mr. Kolompár and his family Convention Refugee Status.