2024 CERD Regional consultation – Racial discrimination in the enjoyment of the right to health

This disproportionately impacts minority groups such as Romani people due to a range of factors, including inability to meet documentary evidence requirements, discriminatory attitudes of registry officials, and poverty and marginalisation.2 Children in migration in Europe are also impacted due to barriers to birth registration, and a lack of awareness about (risk of) statelessness and lack of pro. [...] In Serbia, for example, such practices almost exclusively affect the Roma community and have been inadequately addressed by the State under the misguided pretext that they are ‘part of Roma tradition and culture’ rather than a serious violation of the rights of the child and the rights of women and girls. [...] 10 Praxis, League of Roma SKRUG, Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion, ENS, and European Roma Rights Centre, Joint alternative report submitted to the 94th session of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in relation to the second and third reports of Serbia (October 2017). [...] An explicit reference to statelessness as a cause and consequence of lack or loss of documents and residence or nationality status would be a welcome addition to foreground the vulnerability of in situ populations who are stateless or at risk of statelessness in accessing the right to health, alongside the reference to forced movement. [...] This relates to the obligations to introduce wide measures to eliminate all forms of discrimination outlined in Paragraphs 24 and 25, as well as for the monitoring and measuring of health-related discrimination outlined in Paragraph 32.