The Universal Protection of Human Rights and Central Europe: Romania

Abstract

The protection of fundamental human rights and freedoms is one of the areas where the interaction between national and international standards is most evident. Therefore, international human rights treaties, conventions and covenants have a special place in the Romanian constitutional system. As such, the UN human rights treaties (conventions and covenants) have become part of the Romanian ‘constitutional bloc’. In terms of ratification, these conventions and covenants can essentially be divided into two main groups: those ratified during the years of the Soviet-type dictatorship, and those ratified after the regime change. During the post-regime change period, Romania has taken significant steps to comply with international human rights standards. The vast majority of fundamental human rights protected at international level, including those contained in the UN human rights conventions and covenants under review, are constitutionally protected. Moreover, these fundamental rights permeate the entire legal system, thus they are also protected by a number of other pieces of legislation. In addition to legislation, significant institutional guarantees have been put in place. Despite these efforts, the implementation of human rights protection still raises questions in some areas, such as the inclusion of the Roma minority, or the equality of treatment of women and men. Romania is trying to introduce reforms and make some progress in these areas. The purpose of this contribution is to present some aspects of human rights protection in Romania in the light of the above-mentioned perspectives, and to assess the relationship between Romania and the UN from a human rights perspective.