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Does nationality, citizenship serve as a ground for discrimination in access to public goods and services, employment and/or deprivation of economic and social rights?

Code:
RED4
Key Area:
Anti-discrimination Legislation & Implementation
Strand(s):
Discrimination
20/12/2011 - 16:28
Short Answer

Yes

Qualitative Info

The principle of non discrimination bears no exception by reason of nationality. However, the public service and some professions and careers are not accessible by law to non nationals or non European nationals. Further to a report published by the GELD in March 2000, commenting on the extent and incoherence of the regime of legal discrimination in employment against non nationals, some of these professions have been made accessible to non nationals but the list is exhaustive and addressed piecemeal. De facto, the employment remaines the most important area of discrimination which is direct (job offers explicitly excluding candidates because of their origin or hiring process deliberatively excluding a candidate because of his or her origin) and indirect (refusal of taking into account foreign diplomas for example). Statistical surveys on employment showed that the unemployment rate of immigrants in 2008 (most recent available data) was almost twice the unemployment rate of non-immigrants. The last available surveys, conducted in 1999 and 2000, had shown that about 30% of jobs were partially or totally closed to non-citizens, i.e. about 7 million jobs, among which 5.2 million in the public sector.

There is a lack of updated statistics about incidents of discrimination and racism in the area of housing. In the most cases received by the HALDE, the claims arose from a refusal to rent accommodation as a main place of residence, either because of the applicant's origin or because of his or her guarantor's one. According to the Building and Housing Code, immigrants from outside the EU holding a 1-year residency permit must have been on the French territory for two years before being able to take a case of enforceable right to housing before the administrative court, even when they are in an emergency situation, in which no delay is required for immigrants from EU member states. The HALDE considered that this distinction established a discrimination based on nationality and was consequently contrary to national as well as international legal provisions. It recommended the repeal of this clause and decided to present its observations before the Council of State.

The report of the MDM Monitoring Centre for Access to Health Care provides an overview of the socio-demographic profile of the 24,685 patients who consulted the NGO’s 21 Centres of Health Care and Orientation.  89% of these patients are foreigners, the three most important nationalities being Romanian (15.45%), Algerian (12.2%) and Moroccan (5.4%). Foreign patients seen by the NGO staff experience acute difficulties to access their rights to health care: only 16% of those who could get a health care coverage actually do, 10% when it comes to asylum seekers, and only 5% when it comes to Romanian and Bulgarian patients (against 55% of the French patients)! These figures cannot be considered representing the situation of the general population regarding access to health care. Nevertheless,  they point out that migrants who come to the MDM Centres are in more and more difficult situations regarding access to their rights to health care.

Roma migrants continue to encounter many difficulties, and even refusals, when they seek to enrol their children in school.

 


 

 

Groups affected/interested Migrants
Type (R/D) Nationalism
Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas Employment - labour market, Housing, Health and social protection, Education
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Situation(s)
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