Experts urge Hungary to end 'benevolent segregation' of Roma
BUDAPEST- Hungary should end the "benevolent segregation" of Roma children in schools, experts on the protection of national minorities said Monday.
A report by advisers to the Council of Europe, the continent's top human rights body, said the practice of separate classes for Roma where they are meant to "catch up" before continuing in mainstream education is ineffective and discriminatory.
The report noted a 2015 ruling by the Kuria, the supreme court, which "effectively declared segregation of Roma pupils legal in schools run by religious groups."
The advisory committee said in the report that it was "deeply concerned by this development running diametrically contrary to principles of integration and equal treatment" and highlighted a rise in the segregation of Roma schoolchildren in recent years. Roma make up an estimated 8 percent of Hungary's population of nearly 10 million.
