Human rights in Bulgaria
Bulgaria joined the Council of Europe and ratified the European Convention on Human Rights in 1992[1] and joined the European Union in 2007.[2] Despite this, Bulgarian compliance with human rights norms falls below the standard expected of an ECHR signatory. The European Court of Human Rights noted that of 596 applications dealt with by the Court in 2022, 25 resulted in a judgement finding at least one human rights violation.[3]
Although the Bulgarian media have a record of unbiased reporting,
Institutions for children and adults with mental disabilities
The conditions in Bulgaria's network of institutions for children and adults with mental disabilities have raised concerns. The
Macedonian minority
There exists a small number of individuals identifying as
Macedonians have been refused the right to register political parties (see
In November 2006, the members of the European Parliament Milan Horáček, Joost Lagendijk, Angelika Beer and Elly de Groen-Kouwenhoven introduced an amendment to the accession of Bulgaria to the European Union protocol calling “on the Bulgarian authorities to prevent any further obstruction to the registration of the political party of the ethnic Macedonians (OMO-Ilinden PIRIN) and to put an end to all forms of discrimination and harassment vis-à-vis that minority.”[9]
On May 28, 2018, the European Court of Human Rights made two decisive rulings against Bulgaria in violation of Article 11 (freedom of assembly and association) of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. In the two rulings: Case of Vasilev and Society of the Repressed Macedonians in Bulgaria Victims of the Communist Terror v. Bulgaria (Application no. 23702/15);[10] and Case of Macedonian Club for Ethnic Tolerance in Bulgaria and Radonov v. Bulgaria (Application no. 67197/13),[11] the European Court of Human Rights unanimously ruled that Bulgaria violated Article 11 (freedom of assembly and association) of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, and that Bulgaria must pay a collective total of 16,000 euros to the applicants.
Romani (Roma)
According to a report by Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor from 2001, Bulgarian state security forces have been known to arbitrarily arrest and abuse street children of Romani ethnic origin. The Romani are subjected to harassment in Bulgaria, including the hazing of Romani army conscripts and poor police responses to crimes committed against Romani. A high percentage of Romani children do not attend school, both due to poverty and a lack of proficiency in Bulgarian. On the other hand, the mainly ethnic Roma, Free Bulgaria party has been allowed to run for elections and has achieved some success.[12]
A report by the New York Times notes that during the COVID-19 pandemic "in the Roma suburb in Kyustendil, most roads are unpaved and strewn with garbage," and that Roma children have no access to computers and broad-band internet for learning during the pandemic. Kyustendil authorities claim the lockdowns in the town are to prevent the spread of the virus, while Roma activists claim bigotry.[13]
Human trafficking
There has been a growing awareness of
Religious freedom
The Constitution provides for freedom of religion; however, the law prohibits the public practice of religion by unregistered groups. The Constitution also designates
of societal abuses or discrimination based on religious belief or practice. Discrimination, harassment, and general public intolerance, particularly in the media, of some religious groups remained an intermittent problem.International criticism
The European Court of Human Rights often holds that Bulgaria violates the European Convention on Human Rights. In 2015, the Court issued a special press release dedicated to a systemic problem of Bulgaria's justice system: it underlined that "in over 45 judgments against Bulgaria...the authorities had failed to comply with their obligation to carry out an effective investigation."[20] The European Court of Human Rights has also handed down pilot judgments against Bulgaria - they are delivered when the Court identifies a series of applications pertaining to similar facts. For example, in the pilot judgment Neshkov v Bulgaria, the Court gave Bulgaria 18 months to improve prison conditions.[21] Social activists have raised concern that Bulgaria is lagging behind other European Union Member States in a number of international indexes which measure the protection of civil rights and liberties.[22] The Council of Europe has also expressed worries about Bulgaria's compromised rule of law.[23]
International rankings
- Freedom Index, 2023: 45 out of 165.[24]
- Democracy Index, 2022: 57 out of 167.
- Worldwide Press Freedom Index, 2023: 71 out of 180.[25]
See also
- LGBT rights in Bulgaria
- Internet censorship and surveillance in Bulgaria
Notes and references
- ^ "Bulgaria - Department for the Execution of Judgmentsof the European Court of Human Rights - www.coe.int". Department for the Execution of Judgmentsof the European Court of Human Rights. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
- Washington Post. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
- ^ "ECHR Press Country Profile: Bulgaria". ECHR. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
- ^ a b c Text used in this cited section originally came from: Bulgaria (June 2005) profile from the Library of Congress Country Studies project.
- ^ "Convention on the Rights of the Child". Retrieved March 6, 2015.
- ^ "Minorities in southeast Europe: Macedonians in Bulgaria". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2006-08-06.
- Archive.org
- ^ "UMD Dismayed at CoE Committee of Ministers Resolution to Override ECHR Judgement". United Macedonian Diaspora. December 2, 2009. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
- ^ "Amendments 1-37, Draft Report by Geoffrey van Orden on the accession of Bulgaria to the European Union". European Parliament. May 28, 2020.
- ^ "CASE OF VASILEV AND SOCIETY OF THE REPRESSED MACEDONIANS IN BULGARIA VICTIMS OF THE COMMUNIST TERROR v. BULGARIA". European Court of Human Rights. May 28, 2020.
- ^ "CASE OF MACEDONIAN CLUB FOR ETHNIC TOLERANCE IN BULGARIA AND RADONOV v. BULGARIA". European Court of Human Rights. May 28, 2020.
- ^ Department Of State. The Office of Electronic Information, Bureau of Public Affairs. "Bulgaria". 2001-2009.state.gov. Retrieved 2020-07-07.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-07-07.
- Archive.org
- ^ "A modern slave's brutal odyssey". BBC. November 3, 2004. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
- ^ "Trafficking in Persons Report". June 3, 2005.
- Archive.org
- ^ "Bulgaria". Christian Solidarity Worldwide. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
- HSLDA. June 1, 2012. Archived from the originalon September 24, 2015. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
- ^ "Report on Progress in Bulgaria under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism {SWD(2016) 15 final}". European Commission. 27 January 2016. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
- ^ "Bulgaria Given 18 Months to Improve Prison Conditions". Liberties. 9 September 2015. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
- ^ "Bulgaria's Failed Democracy". bulgarianmagnitsky.com. 25 November 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
- ^ "PACE, worried about threats to the rule of law, points to recent developments in five states". Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. 12 October 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
- ^ Freedom Index by Country 2023
- ^ "Index | RSF". rsf.org. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
External links
- Censorship in Bulgaria - IFEX
- Documentary - Bulgaria's Abandoned Children
- Bulgarian Helsinki Committee
- European Roma Rights Center - Strasbourg Court Sanctions Bulgaria for Failure to Bring Perpetrators of Racist Killing to Justice
- NGO Roma Together
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. Country Studies. Federal Research Division.