Bulgaria sees the protection of human rights and basic liberties as the main priority of its domestic and foreign policy.

Our country is a signatory to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Bulgaria has officially recognised the following ethnic communities as traditionally living on its territory: Turks, Roma, Armenians, Jews, Wallachians, Karakatchans and Tatars.
The Republic of Bulgaria has ratified the international conventions on the rights of minorities, including the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the Council of Europe’s Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. The latter is implemented through national legislation and appropriate government policy. To this end, a National Council on Ethnic and Demographic Issues has been created under the Council of Ministers, in accordance with Decree No. 449 of the Council of Ministers of 04.12.1997.

This Council is a consultative body for cooperation and coordination between the authorities and non-governmental organisations in the context of drafting and implementing national policy on ethnic and demographic issues. This Council brings together the deputy ministers of 11 ministries and four public services on the one hand and, on the other, 32 non-governmental organisations from the ethnic minorities which traditionally live on Bulgarian territory – Turks, Roma, Armenians, Wallachians, Jews, Karakatchans and Tatars. The Council is a structure which is open to consultation with all organisations of the minority communities in our country. Representatives of these minority communities can thus take part in the decision-making process on problems which directly concern them.

The main problem currently affecting the integration of national minorities in Bulgaria relates to the Roma community. The Bulgarian government has taken a number of measures to rectify this situation in recent years. National and local priorities have been set out in the relevant statutory instruments.

The Law Ratifying the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities was passed in February 1999, followed by the preparation of a framework programme for the integration of Roma people into Bulgarian society by assuring them of equal rights with people who belong to the majority population (April 1999).

Measures forming part of the government’s “BULGARIA 2001” programme are now being put into effect. These are as follows:

· Including Roma people among experts and working groups under the ministries and regional administrations. Roma people have been appointed to expert positions in the public services.

· Continuing the PHARE programme, with the priority modules of “Access to education” and “Urbanisation of Roma districts”.

· Drawing up a national programme on job creation for young people, aimed at reducing youth unemployment.

· Training at least 50 Roma as police officers.

· A Roma Social Council on Cultural Issues has been set up in accordance with the National Programme for the Integration of the Roma Community.

The Framework Programme for the Integration of Roma into Bulgarian Society by assuring them of equal rights with people who belong to the majority population is the outcome of the dialogue initiated between the Roma community and the Bulgarian Government. This programme follows the main principles of the national strategy aimed at guaranteeing full and actual equality between Roma people and the majority population.

The documents taken as a basis for drafting this Framework Programme are the “Participation of Roma in the social life of Bulgaria on an equal footing” programme and draft government statutory instruments.

An ad hoc interdepartmental group has been set up with a view to drafting a bill on the prevention of discrimination. Representatives of non-governmental organisations in the area of protection of human rights have been invited to take part in drafting the bill.
In its work, this ad hoc group complies with EU directives and the recommendations of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance under the Council of Europe and of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on the drafting of special anti-discrimination legislation and on the creation of a public body specialising in the prevention of discrimination.

This bill is due to be completed by 30 January 2001.
Broadly speaking, the provisions of this law are to contain a definition of the concept of discrimination, a description of the specific acts and omissions which will be subject to administrative sanctions, a statement to the effect that these provisions will be applicable to all physical persons and legal entities and to representatives/officials of central and local administrative bodies and their subdivisions, statements on the creation of a specialist public body and administrative sanctions. In accordance with the framework programme, the public body will be created to prevent discrimination based on membership of a national minority against all Bulgarian citizens, whatever their ethnic identity.

The government has adopted a decree on the creation of a public agency for protection of the child.

At present effective educational segregation can be observed with respect to Roma children, reflected in isolation of them in what are known as “gypsy schools”, which feature extensive learning of manual trades and segregated Roma classes. As a consequence of the poor quality of education under these conditions, the poverty of Roma children and ethnic and cultural differences, a substantial increase can be seen in the number of children of Roma origin who do not attend school or who leave school before completing their primary or secondary education.

Consequently it is essential to draw up a long-term strategy with the aim of closing segregated schools in Roma districts. Since closing of what are known as “gypsy schools” involves a lengthy process, there is a need to take action in the interim to improve the quality of teaching in these schools. This aim can be achieved by assisting in or encouraging the creation of preparatory classes for Roma children who do not speak fluent Bulgarian, recruiting qualified teachers and training and employing what are known as “teaching assistants” from the Roma community who will help to integrate children of Roma origin who do not speak fluent Bulgarian into the educational process.
A relatively large proportion of Roma schoolchildren are sent to “special” schools for children with learning difficulties, orphans or children who have left school or been included in “special” education programmes after being declared incapable of learning the subjects which feature in the curriculum of schools of general education, either because they do not speak fluent Bulgarian or because their parents are unable to cope with them.

There is a need to organise appropriate training for teachers, parents and pupils with a view to preventing manifestations of intolerance at all levels of the educational process. Teaching of the minority language is also a fundamental right under the Bulgarian Constitution. The Roma language is one of the optional courses in the compulsory school curriculum.

Development of Roma culture as a specific ethnic culture which forms an integral part of Bulgarian national culture must be guaranteed and encouraged by the Bulgarian State. Roma history and culture must be included in textbooks for primary and secondary education in the overall context of Bulgarian history and culture. The State must lend its support to the reopening of reading houses in Roma districts, the reintroduction of Roma theatre and the re-establishment of Roma publishing.

The Bulgarian State has lent its support to the involvement of Roma people in national television and radio broadcasts; this relates both to their participation in Roma broadcasts and to the participation of Roma journalists in other television and radio broadcasts.

In recent years, the Ministry of Education and Science has paid particular attention to promoting the Convention on the Rights of the Child and school education as well as the implementation of certain successful initiatives supported by the Ministry of Education and Science and the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, namely projects under the PHARE programme and other projects organised by NGOs and Bulgarian and foreign foundations.

These projects include “School for All”, which is aimed at attracting Roma children to non-segregated schools, re-establishing the link between children, parents and teachers in a social context, and training and encouraging teachers of Roma origin, and the “Second Chance" project, which aims to enable children in regions with a substantial Roma population who have left school to complete their primary education and acquire vocational skills.

The initiative taken in the area around the town of Vidin offers a good example: around 250 Roma children are educated not in the nearby Roma school but in schools in the town. They are taken by bus every day to assist with their integration into regular classes in primary and secondary schools of general education.

The employment of Roma teaching assistants in the Bulgarian education system is aimed at overcoming the language barrier and making it easier to organise courses to train teaching assistants of Roma origin.

Bulgaria has always shown tolerance towards the other officially recognised ethnic minorities. Problems in integrating them are insignificant or fall within the realm of positive practice.

Relations with the Jewish minority are traditionally good and constructive. Anti-Semitism is alien to Bulgarian society and culture and has never been manifested, even in political relations.

Historical evidence of the presence of Jews on Bulgarian soil dates back to the 1st to 4th centuries AD. In the mid-14th century King Ivan Alexander married the Jewess Sara, and their son Ivan Chichman himself later became King of the Bulgars. A large number of Jews settled on Bulgarian land in the 15th century, after being banished from the Iberian Peninsula.

After the Bulgarian State was re-established in 1878, the Jewish community, as well as the other minority groups, took part in social and political life on an equal footing, including the Bulgarian Army. They have fought in all the wars in which the Bulgarian State has taken part.

The first Bulgarian Constitution, adopted in 1879, enshrined equal rights for all groups living in the territory of the Principality of Bulgaria, whatever their origin, religion, financial circumstances and political affiliation.

A social movement for the protection of Bulgarian Jews was born during the Second World War. This movement included among its numbers leading parliamentarians with the Deputy President of the National Assembly, Dimitar Pechev, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, political parties, associations and even the Head of State, King Boris III. This movement enabled Bulgaria to save 50,000 Jews from deportation. This is an admirable act of which our country can feel proud.

Today, the Jewish community is treated with respect and has a significant place in the socio-political and cultural life of the country.

Bulgaria has a Jewish state school, municipal school and six Jewish Sunday schools set up in heavily populated regions. They are also attended by children from other minority groups.

In full awareness of the vital role played by education in combating racism and anti-Semitism, Bulgaria has unreservedly supported the Stockholm Declaration for training on the Holocaust and the Declaration by the European Ministers of Education, adopted at the Krakow Conference last October. We plan to put its recommendations into effect by instituting training on the Holocaust in Bulgarian schools, with a view to preventing the crimes against humanity that marked the 20th century. In this context, Bulgaria supports the Council of Europe’s idea of celebrating a European Day of Remembrance of the Holocaust in all schools. By force of circumstance, Bulgaria has become the second homeland for large groups of Armenians recognised as a national minority, who form an integral part of the socio-political and cultural life of our country. There has never been any tension in relations with this minority group.

Relations with the Turkish ethnic community are good. Throughout the many decades that have followed the re-establishment of the Bulgarian State in 1878, the two communities, Bulgarian and Turkish, have co-existed in mutual understanding and respect manifested by the holding of traditional festivals and even by joint celebration of these festivals.

In accordance with the principles of the Audiovisual Act and certain statutory instruments on the protection and development of culture, broadcasting of the Bulgarian national television news in Turkish began in the second half of 2000. The private national radio station Darik-radio broadcasts a specialist programme in Turkish for regions with a substantial Turkish population. A licence to broadcast programmes in Turkish has been granted to two cable television networks.

Applications will shortly be examined for cable networks aimed at minority ethnic groups in other regions of the country with a mixed population.

In 2000 there were 310 regional newspaper titles, accounting for 53% of all newspaper sales in the country. During the year 16 foreign-language newspapers were published: five in English, three in Russian, one in Turkish, one in German and one in Ukrainian, and five in two or more languages including Hebrew, Armenian, etc.
The teaching of pupils who have chosen to study special subjects is as follows:

· In the 1999/2000 school year, 297 children in 16 schools in nine regions of the country with 14 teachers studied “Religion - Islam” as a special subject.

· During the current school year this subject has been taught in 107 schools in 105 localities in 18 regions of the country with 72 teachers. We share the view that introducing schoolchildren to the various faiths allows them to be educated in a spirit of tolerance and of respect for religions.
Teaching in “Religion - Islam” is given in Bulgarian under the terms of Article 8(1) of the National Education Act, which stipulates that Bulgarian is the official language in nursery and other schools and in supplementary structures in the sphere of education.

· Since 1999/200 “minority language” has been one of the compulsory course options in Bulgarian schools.

· Three secondary denominational schools for general education with extended study of Turkish have been set up. A Romanian school has been set up in Bulgaria under the terms of an intergovernmental agreement.

One of the priority areas of Bulgarian education is the training of young people to become responsible and competent citizens of their country, Europe and the world.
Issues relating to democracy, human rights, intercultural dialogue and tolerance are at the core of civic education in Bulgarian schools.

Civic education, which is interdisciplinary in nature, is dispensed through numerous compulsory subjects in the field of “social sciences and civic education” which bring together the following disciplines: history and civilisation, geography and economics, psychology and logic, ethics and law, philosophy, world and personality. The national educational standards adopted by the Ministry of Education and Science in 2000 are an important element in the promotion of civic education.

The introduction of civic education into schools forms an integral part of Bulgarian educational reform. The new regulations from the Ministry of Education and Science guarantee schools and teachers considerable freedom in drawing up curricula and syllabuses depending on the abilities and interests of pupils, while taking account of particular characteristics at the local level.

National educational standards in the field of civic education have been published and debated by the entire teaching profession. The social debate has brought out the main elements of civic education: democratic values, human rights, interculturalism, international understanding and cooperation, etc. Representatives of NGOs have played an active part in debates on the specification of national educational standards in the field of civic education.

Tolerance of others, of characteristic features and national details, and of physical and mental differences between people forms an integral part of educational content, with an emphasis on accepting differences and developing the aptitude of teachers to guide children in the process of their adaptation and integration into society, The opening-up of Bulgaria at all levels of communication between people has added a new dimension to the idea of tolerance in the field of education. This new vision is expressed in the amendments to the National Education Act and its implementing regulations adopted in 1998 and 1999. Under the terms of these statutory instruments, any child, irrespective of physical and mental characteristics, is fully entitled to be educated in the national education system. This statute has supplemented the ban on all forms of discrimination in the education process in Bulgaria stipulated by the National Education Act, and imposes new requirements for the overall training of teachers.

It should be emphasised that many non-governmental organisations within and outside Bulgaria are addressing the problems of minority groups, religious communities other than the official Orthodox Church, the destitute, and social groups exhibiting physical and mental differences. The Bulgarian education system cooperates closely with these organisations, whose approaches to social integration are highly flexible.
The National Education Act stipulates that everyone has a right to education and explicitly prohibits all forms of discrimination. A significant factor in policy on higher education is the vital role played by teachers in the development of society. Respect for human rights and universal values is the basic criterion in assessing students of teaching specialisms in higher education. Bulgarian participation in international educational projects is of particular importance in the training of teaching staff on tolerance and understanding of personal and social differences. The University of Sofia, the University of Shoumen, the National Institute of Education, etc., take an active part in these projects. They involve developing training modules for trainers working with minority groups, examining the ethnographic heritage as a foundation for the development of intercultural education, and tolerance and free development of personality as an integral part of the educational process, the new vision of which forms part of the teaching given in higher education.

The Bulgarian Constitution guarantees equal rights for national minorities, including the right to choose a religion and the right to establish religious institutions. Eastern Orthodoxy is defined as the official religion, but this is merely moral recognition of the role of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, which does not give rise to any legal preference. The following religions of national minorities are registered in Bulgaria: the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church, the Central Israelite Council and the Muslim Faith.
Fostering of a spirit of tolerance of differences between communities and the creation of conditions supporting the preservation of cultural diversity form an integral part of Bulgaria’s national cultural policy.

Remark:
1. The following documents have been used:
UPDATED “ BULGARIA 2001” PROGRAMME
REPORT ON APPLICATION OF THE UPDATED “BULGARIA 2001” PROGRAMME as at 30 June 2000.
FRAMEWORK PROGRAMME FOR THE INTEGRATION OF ROMA PEOPLE INTO BULGARIAN SOCIETY BY ASSURING THEM OF EQUAL RIGHTS WITH PEOPLE WHO BELONG TO THE MAJORITY POPULATION
GOVERNMENT BULLETIN
2. Various documents drawn up with the aid of experts from the Ministry of National Education.
3. National report of December 2000 for UNESCO on “Education for peace, human rights, democracy, international understanding and tolerance”.

Bulgaria sees the protection of human rights and basic liberties as the main priority of its domestic and foreign policy.

Our country is a signatory to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Bulgaria has officially recognised the following ethnic communities as traditionally living on its territory: Turks, Roma, Armenians, Jews, Wallachians, Karakatchans and Tatars.
The main problem currently affecting the integration of national minorities in Bulgaria relates to the Roma community. The Bulgarian government has taken a number of measures to rectify this situation in recent years. National and local priorities have been set out in the relevant statutory instruments.

The Law Ratifying the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities was passed in February 1999, followed by the preparation of a framework programme for the integration of Roma people into Bulgarian society by assuring them of equal rights with people who belong to the majority population (April 1999).

In recent years, the Ministry of Education and Science has paid particular attention to promoting the Convention on the Rights of the Child and school education as well as the implementation of certain successful initiatives supported by the Ministry of Education and Science and the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, namely projects under the PHARE programme and other projects organised by NGOs and Bulgarian and foreign foundations.

These projects include “School for All”, which is aimed at attracting Roma children to non-segregated schools, re-establishing the link between children, parents and teachers in a social context, and training and encouraging teachers of Roma origin, and the “Second Chance" project, which aims to enable children in regions with a substantial Roma population who have left school to complete their primary education and acquire vocational skills.

The initiative taken in the area around the town of Vidin offers a good example: around 250 Roma children are educated not in the nearby Roma school but in schools in the town. They are taken by bus every day to assist with their integration into regular classes in primary and secondary schools of general education.

The employment of Roma teaching assistants in the Bulgarian education system is aimed at overcoming the language barrier and making it easier to organise courses to train teaching assistants of Roma origin.

Bulgaria has always shown tolerance towards the other officially recognised ethnic minorities. Problems in integrating them are insignificant or fall within the realm of positive practice.

Relations with the Jewish minority are traditionally good and constructive. Anti-Semitism is alien to Bulgarian society and culture and has never been manifested, even in political relations.

Historical evidence of the presence of Jews on Bulgarian soil dates back to the 1st to 4th centuries AD. In the mid-14th century King Ivan Alexander married the Jewess Sara, and their son Ivan Chichman himself later became King of the Bulgars. A large number of Jews settled on Bulgarian land in the 15th century, after being banished from the Iberian Peninsula.

The first Bulgarian Constitution, adopted in 1879, enshrined equal rights for all groups living in the territory of the Principality of Bulgaria, whatever their origin, religion, financial circumstances and political affiliation.

A social movement for the protection of Bulgarian Jews was born during the Second World War. This movement included among its numbers leading parliamentarians with the Deputy President of the National Assembly, Dimitar Pechev, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, political parties, associations and even the Head of State, King Boris III. This movement enabled Bulgaria to save 50,000 Jews from deportation. This is an admirable act of which our country can feel proud.

Today, the Jewish community is treated with respect and has a significant place in the socio-political and cultural life of the country.

In full awareness of the vital role played by education in combating racism and anti-Semitism, Bulgaria has unreservedly supported the Stockholm Declaration for training on the Holocaust and the Declaration by the European Ministers of Education, adopted at the Krakow Conference last October. We plan to put its recommendations into effect by instituting training on the Holocaust in Bulgarian schools, with a view to preventing the crimes against humanity that marked the 20th century. In this context, Bulgaria supports the Council of Europe’s idea of celebrating a European Day of Remembrance of the Holocaust in all schools. By force of circumstance, Bulgaria has become the second homeland for large groups of Armenians recognised as a national minority, who form an integral part of the socio-political and cultural life of our country. There has never been any tension in relations with this minority group.

Relations with the Turkish ethnic community are good. Throughout the many decades that have followed the re-establishment of the Bulgarian State in 1878, the two communities, Bulgarian and Turkish, have co-existed in mutual understanding and respect manifested by the holding of traditional festivals and even by joint celebration of these festivals.

In accordance with the principles of the Audiovisual Act and certain statutory instruments on the protection and development of culture, broadcasting of the Bulgarian national television news in Turkish began in the second half of 2000. The private national radio station Darik-radio broadcasts a specialist programme in Turkish for regions with a substantial Turkish population. A licence to broadcast programmes in Turkish has been granted to two cable television networks.

We share the view that introducing schoolchildren to the various faiths allows them to be educated in a spirit of tolerance and of respect for religions.

One of the priority areas of Bulgarian education is the training of young people to become responsible and competent citizens of their country, Europe and the world.
Issues relating to democracy, human rights, intercultural dialogue and tolerance are at the core of civic education in Bulgarian schools.

Civic education, which is interdisciplinary in nature, is dispensed through numerous compulsory subjects in the field of “social sciences and civic education” which bring together the following disciplines: history and civilisation, geography and economics, psychology and logic, ethics and law, philosophy, world and personality. The national educational standards adopted by the Ministry of Education and Science in 2000 are an important element in the promotion of civic education.

Tolerance of others, of characteristic features and national details, and of physical and mental differences between people forms an integral part of educational content, with an emphasis on accepting differences and developing the aptitude of teachers to guide children in the process of their adaptation and integration into society, The opening-up of Bulgaria at all levels of communication between people has added a new dimension to the idea of tolerance in the field of education. This new vision is expressed in the amendments to the National Education Act and its implementing regulations adopted in 1998 and 1999. Under the terms of these statutory instruments, any child, irrespective of physical and mental characteristics, is fully entitled to be educated in the national education system. This statute has supplemented the ban on all forms of discrimination in the education process in Bulgaria stipulated by the National Education Act, and imposes new requirements for the overall training of teachers.

It should be emphasised that many non-governmental organisations within and outside Bulgaria are addressing the problems of minority groups, religious communities other than the official Orthodox Church, the destitute, and social groups exhibiting physical and mental differences. The Bulgarian education system cooperates closely with these organisations, whose approaches to social integration are highly flexible.

The National Education Act stipulates that everyone has a right to education and explicitly prohibits all forms of discrimination. A significant factor in policy on higher education is the vital role played by teachers in the development of society. Respect for human rights and universal values is the basic criterion in assessing students of teaching specialisms in higher education.

The Bulgarian Constitution guarantees equal rights for national minorities, including the right to choose a religion and the right to establish religious institutions. Eastern Orthodoxy is defined as the official religion, but this is merely moral recognition of the role of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, which does not give rise to any legal precedence.
Fostering of a spirit of tolerance of differences between communities and the creation of conditions supporting the preservation of cultural diversity form an integral part of Bulgaria’s national cultural policy.