site.btaMarginalization of Roma Minority Remains Bulgaria's Most Pressing Human Rights Problem - US Department of State Annual Report

Marginalization of Roma Minority Remains Bulgaria's Most Pressing Human Rights Problem - US Department of State Annual Report

Washington, D.C., June 26 (BTA) - The marginalization of the
Romani minority remained Bulgaria's most pressing human rights
problem, the US Department of State Country Report on Human
Rights Practices for 2014 says.
   
According to observers of the parliamentary elections in October
 2014, the fundamental freedoms of speech, peaceful assembly and
 association were respected, but the report also notes there
were are convincing accusations of vote buying and controlled
voting, as well as use of "racist, xenophobic, and inflammatory
rhetoric" throughout the election campaign.
   
Continued deterioration of the media environment and increase in
 media self-censorship due to corporate and political pressure
were also problematic, the document says. Corruption continued
to be a drag on the government's capabilities and undermined
public and business confidence in the judiciary and other
government institutions.
   
Other human rights problems included overcrowding and harsh
conditions in prisons and detention facilities. There were also
shortcomings in refugee integration processes and policies; long
 delays in the judicial system; reports of abuse of wiretapping;
 religious discrimination and harassment; violence and
discrimination against women; violence against children;
increasing online anti-Semitism; trafficking in persons;
discrimination against persons with disabilities; discrimination
 against members of the Romani and Turkish ethnic minorities;
discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender
(LGBT) persons and persons with HIV/AIDS; and anti-Muslim
demonstrations. Child labor and discrimination against members
of minorities in employment and occupation were also reported.
   
The government took steps to prosecute and punish officials in
the security services and elsewhere who committed abuses, but
their actions were insufficient, and impunity was a problem, the
 report says.