overturned a negative first instance Administrative Court decision and finds the city council practice
to be discriminatory. One side of Telmana Street in Uzhgorod is home to a majority -Roma
neighbourhood, where the standard of housing is visibly poor: many houses are not officially
registered, many have limited or no access to public water and sewerage. The houses on the other
side belong mostly to non-Roma, where they generally live in much better conditions. The
discriminatory city council decisions from 2017 meant that children living in even -numbered houses
on Telmana Street (the non-Romani side) were enrolled in the mainstream “School No.7”, while those
living in odd-numbered houses (the Romani side) were enrolled in the 100% segregated “School
No.13”. The quality of education in the segregated school is of a significantly lower standard than
other schools in the city, as mentioned by the Court in its judgment where it noted that “secondary
school №13 enrols only Roma children, whose level of education is much lower than in other
educational institutions.” As a result of the judgment, the City Council have removed the division of
the street, and Romani parents are free to enrol their children in the mainstream “School No.7”.
Ljudmila Churej, the 41-year-old Romani mother who was represented in the case by the ERRC, said
that despite the ongoing war she is pleased that Romani children from her neighbourhood will be
given the opportunity for a non-segregated education: “I had eight years of education and I
understand that it was not enough and I should have continued my studies, but my parents thought
differently. I want my children to have a normal education, the same as any other child attending
mainstream school. I want my children to go to a better school than our ‘Roma school’. The teaching
at School No.7 is better, the children are more clever. I want my children to have a future. During the
war it is a difficult question – if there would be no war I would start collecting documents for the
enrolment of my children to School No.7. I hope the war shall end and my kids will start learning in
the mainstream school.” The ERRC’s President Đorđe Jovanović commended the Court for its
decision, which he said demonstrated a respect for equality and non-discrimination during a time
when most would not imagine such issues to be a priority: “This judgment, issued during a time of
war, sends an important message that the rule of law is not dead in Ukraine; that there are judicial
bodies willing to rule against racial segregation and discrimination of Roma, even as cities are being
reduced to rubble. The Roma of Ukraine have larger concerns at the moment – however this judgment
may provide some hope, that in future there will be a rebuilding which will include those institutions
that remained true to protecting human rights and condemning discrimination.” The City Council of
Uzhgorod has 30 days from the date of the judgment to appeal the decision to the Supre me Court of
Ukraine. The activity was delivered within ‘Justice for Roma in Ukraine’ co-financed by the European
Union. This publication was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents
are the sole responsibility of European Roma Rights Centre and do not necessarily reflect the views
of the European Union.”
US DOS, Annual report on human rights in 2021, 2021 Country Report on Human Rights Practices: Ukraine,
12 April 2022
"Romani activists expressed concern that some Roma could not afford to flee conflict areas, while others
had no choice but to leave their homes. […] According to Council of Europe experts, 60 percent of Roma
were unemployed, 40 percent had no documents, and only 1 percent had a university degree. According
to the Romani women’s foundation, Chirikli, local authorities erected a number of barriers to prevent
issuing national identification documents to Roma. […] Authorities hampered access to education for
persons who lacked documents and segregated Romani children into special schools or lower-quality
classrooms. Officials also expressed anti-Roma sentiments and encouraged discrimination. […] Many
Roma fled settlements in areas controlled by Russia-led forces and moved elsewhere in the country.
According to Chirikli, approximately 10,000 Roma were among the most vulnerable members of the
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