The poorest are treated the worst by the state and although several officials of MIA pledged they would eliminate abuses, the way they work favors abuses, a UN special rapporteur on the problems of extreme poverty and human rights, Philip Alston said, Mediafax informs.
The Special Rapporteur of the United Nations on issues of extreme poverty and human rights, Philip Alston, said in a press conference Wednesday at the end of the mission he conducted in Romania since November 2, that he found the poorest are treated in the worst way by the state.
" I visited the Police Department no. 10 and talked to several officials of MIA. They said they wanted to eliminate abuses, and I have no reason to doubt their assurances, but actually I see a system that rather facilitates abuses. People can be easily taken to the police to give a statement, and police may harass a citizen according to his whim. I looked in the register and I saw when people came in but there was no registration of the time when they left, because they did not note down the time when they left the station, " UN rapporteur said.
Philip Alston criticized the way in which a complaint for abuse by a policeman can be filed, considering that the procedure is cumbersome.
“Similarly, there is a system of filing a complaint against the policeman, but I would not ever use this procedure. First, you must go to his supervisor, but after you have been beaten by the policeman, certainly you do not want another one from the supervisor , then you have to get to the prosecutor. All you have to do is go to the Forensic Institute to get a certificate that you have been beaten, after which you hire a lawyer.
But more than 3,000 complaints of police abuse were filed, 40 of them were prosecuted and only 4 of them have resulted in convictions, "the UN rapporteur said.
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty issues and human rights is on an official visit to Romania, from 2-11 November to assess the Government's efforts to eradicate poverty, but also how the government consider its international obligations to observe human rights in these efforts.
The visit focused on the situation of the Roma, the people with disabilities and children, groups that are disproportionately affected by poverty and human rights issues.