Romania

Specialized body - Human rights

Committee for Human Rights, Equal Opportunities, Cults and Minorities
(September 2018)

About

Nature
Permanent

Members

Number of members
All MembersBelow 45 years of age
Total118
Men107
Women11
See historical data for this field.
Political affiliation of members
Majority parties
6
See historical data for this field.
Opposition parties
5
See historical data for this field.

Chairperson(s)

Chair 1
Constantin Bogdan Matei
Chairperson: Sex
Male
Date of birth
20 Oct 1980
Political affiliation
Opposition
See historical data for this field.

Chairperson

Chairperson: Sex
Male
Age: Chairperson is below 45 years of age
Yes
Political affiliation
Majority

Committee functions

Mainstream human rights into the work of (other) parliamentary committees and of Parliament as a whole
No
Mainstream gender equality into the work of (other) parliamentary committees and of Parliament as a whole
No
Scrutinise all Bills for their compatibility with human rights
Yes
Scrutinise all Bills from a gender perspective
Yes
Scrutinise the Executive’s policy for compatibility with human rights
No
Scrutinise the Executive’s policy from a gender perspective
No
Obtain information from the Executive about the justification for actions or inaction which affect human rights
Yes
Obtain information from the Executive about the justification for actions or inaction which affect gender equality and women’s rights
Yes
Scrutinise State compliance with existing UN human rights treaties
No
Scrutinise State compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)
No
Initiate inquiries of its own choosing
Yes
Scrutinise proposed human rights treaties, and other international treaties with implications for human rights, and report to Parliament thereon, prior to ratification
No
Scrutinise proposed treaties on gender equality, and other international treaties with implications for gender equality and women’s rights, and report to Parliament thereon, prior to ratification
Yes
Ascertain and review the Executive’s reasons for not acceding to or ratifying existing international human rights treaties
No
Ascertain and review the Executive’s reasons for not acceding to or ratifying existing international human rights treaties on gender equality and women’s rights
No
Scrutinise the Executive’s response to judgments of national, regional and international courts with implications for human rights
No
Scrutinise the Executive’s response to human rights judgments - of national, regional and international courts – that have gender considerations
No
Monitor the adequacy of the existing national system for the protection of human rights
No
Monitor the adequacy of the existing national system for the promotion of gender equality
No
Review the allocation and expenditure of funds in the State budget to support measures to promote and protect human rights
No
Review the allocation and expenditure of funds in the State budget to support measures to promote gender equality and protect women’s rights
No
Other important functions, please specify
-examines draft laws and legislative proposals on human rights, and the rights of national minorities and religious cults, for the purpose of drawing up reports and opinions;
-requests from public authorities reports, information and documents;
-conducts parliamentary inquiries, at the request of the Senate’s Standing Bureau, and submits to the Bureau the reports;
-monitors the observance of human rights, and the rights of persons belonging to national minorities’ and religious cults, by the relevant ministries and public administration bodies, in their specific fields of activity;
-invites experts and representatives of public authorities to participate in its debates;
-decides upon the treatment of the petitions distributed to the committee by the Standing Bureau, or received directly by the committee for examination;
-conducts hearings, in joint sitting with the corresponding committee of the Chamber of Deputies or other standing committees of the Senate or the Chamber of De

Committee involvement in international and national reporting mechanisms

Such as the UN Human Rights Council and its' Universal Periodic Review, the UN CEDAW Committee etc.
Consulted in the preparation of national report to the UN Human Rights Council
No
Consulted in the preparation of the most recent national report to the CEDAW Committee
No
Included in the official delegation which orally presented the most recent national report to the Council
No
Included in the official delegation which orally presented the most recent national report to the CEDAW Committee
No
Discussed the conclusions and recommendations which the Council adopted as a result
No
Discussed the conclusions and recommendations which the CEDAW Committee adopted as a result
No
Conducted hearings with the Executive about its plans to implement the conclusions and recommendations of the Human Rights Council
No
Conducted hearings with the Executive about its plans to implement CEDAW conclusions and recommendations
No
Involved in the preparation of national reports to other international or regional mechanisms (Resolution 1325 of the United Nations Security Council on Women, peace and security, the Beijing Platform for action…)
No

Committee powers

The Committee has the power to:
Propose amendments to legislation
Yes
Introduce bills into Parliament
Yes
Initiate parliamentary debates on its reports or on subjects of its choosing
Yes
Carry out inquiries
Yes
Hold oral evidence hearings
Yes
Compel witnesses to attend
No
Compel the production of documents and papers
Yes
Make recommendations to the Executive
Yes
Conduct visits, including visits abroad
Yes
Access places of detention without notice
No

Committee working methods

The Committee:
Adopts an annual or longer-term work plan
No
Publishes reports on its work on the parliamentary website
Yes
Usually reaches consensus on the issues on which it reports
Yes
Systematically follows up its reports and recommendations
Yes
Reports regularly to Parliament on its activities
Yes
Number of specialised staff to service committee
2

Cooperation and coordination

The Committee regularly cooperates and coordinates (e.g. through sharing of reports; meetings; joint follow-up action) with:
Other parliamentary committees
Often
Civil society organisations
Often
National Human Rights Institution(s) and National Institution(s) for the promotion of gender equality Often called “Commissions” and/or “Ombudspersons” in the area of human rights
Often
Academic institutions, including human rights and gender equality research institutes
Often
The media
Often