Equal rights and antidiscrimination

Romania has made far-ranging changes with a view to ensure the same rights to its citizens, irrespective of colour, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, disability or age. It has been both a legal/administrative challenge (from amending its Constitution, legislation and public policy, to infrastructure works aiming to provide some – still modest! – degree of accessibility) and a socio-cultural one, in a fast-evolving, but still traditional society (i.e. the decriminalisation of homosexuality was only effected as recently as 2001). The setting up of public institutions – such as the Romanian National Council for Combating Discrimination with a far reaching scope of action by combining more than 13 different discrimination criteria – has played a key role and has become a unique model in Europe. This is also one of the fields in which civil society has been most active and effective.

Romania still needs to step up its efforts to ensure equal rights and full social participation to all kinds of minority groups. That is why a growing number of NGOs are trying to compensate in areas where the state is lagging behind, by fighting for equality and non-discrimination on very specific issues. Below you will find a division of the main categories that fall under this field, from gender equality and LGBT rights to the rights of youth and people with disabilities. Additionally, integration of the Roma minority was included here, since the issues that this minority faces have less to do with political representation or association rights and more with anti-discrimination measures, as well as poverty reduction, equal access to education, healthcare, the labour market etc.

You will find experts with diverse hands-on expertise, often interlinked with expertise in other additional fields available in the database.