Romania
Romania regularly reports hate crime data to ODIHR. The Ministry of Administration and Interior, the Police, the Prosecutor's Office and the Superior Council of Magistracy collect hate crime data.
In 2016, Romania implemented ODIHR's Training Against Hate Crimes for Law Enforcement (TAHCLE) Programme. A specialized hate crime unit was created in the Romanian Police in 2021.
Amendments to the Criminal Code introduced in 2023 set out the constituent elements of hate crimes and the protected grounds therein.
OFFICIAL DATA REPORTED BY STATES
| Year | Hate crimes recorded by police | Prosecuted | Sentenced |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 87 | 197 | Not available |
| 2023 | 95 | 252 | 239 |
| 2022 | 59 | 129 | 16 |
| 2021 | 7 | 54 | 128 |
| 2020 | Not available | Not available | Not available |
| 2019 | Not available | Not available | Not available |
| 2018 | 2 | 2 | 33 |
| 2017 | 1 | 0 | 8 |
| 2016 | 10 | 21 | 50 |
| 2015 | 15 | 24 | 59 |
| 2014 | 25 | 20 | Not available |
| 2013 | Not available | 4 | Not available |
| 2012 | Not available | Not available | Not available |
| 2011 | Not available | Not available | Not available |
| 2010 | Not available | Not available | Not available |
| 2009 | Not available | 1 | Not available |
About 2024 Data
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Police figures represent the number of hate crime cases recorded. Police recorded a further 109 incitement speech offences that fall outside the OSCE hate crime definition.
Prosecution figures represent the total number of hate crimes pending in the prosecutor's offices as of 31 December 2024. A further 241 cases registered by the prosecution authorities and reported to ODIHR fall outside the OSCE definition of hate crime.
Figures on the sentencing of cases committed with a bias motive (according to Article 77 (h) of the Criminal Code) are not available due to ongoing developments in the judicial statistics IT system.
Hate crime recorded by police
A total of 68 offences were excluded from the breakdown below, including incidents of hate speech and the establishment of an organization with a fascist, racist or xenophobic character, all of which fall outside the OSCE hate crime definition.
KEY OBSERVATION
ODIHR recognizes Romania's efforts to develop policy and strategic frameworks to address hate and to promote the inclusion of minority communities. However, based on the available information, it observes that Romania's hate crime recording and statistics do not sufficiently distinguish hate crimes from other crimes. In addition, ODIHR observes that Romania would benefit from ensuring that hate crimes are addressed in a comprehensive manner, including by introducing a co-ordination mechanism.
ODIHR recalls that in Ministerial Council Decision 9/09, participating States agreed to a definition of hate crime shared by all OSCE participating States, and committed to collecting reliable data and statistics on hate crimes. Therefore, hate crimes need to be distinguished from hate speech and discrimination crimes throughout the recording and data collection process. Participating States have also committed to ensuring a comprehensive approach to hate crimes. To that end, the relevant authorities are required to collaborate and co-ordinate with civil society.
ODIHR stands ready to support Romania in meeting its relevant commitments through the provision of comprehensive resources and tailored assistance in the area of hate crime recording and data collection, as well as by providing further resources on addressing hate crimes comprehensively.
OVERVIEW OF INCIDENTS REPORTED BY CIVIL SOCIETY
For 2024, ODIHR received reports of hate incidents in Romania from the following civil society organizations:
- ACCEPT Romania
To learn more, visit the Contributors page.
In addition, one incident was reported as part of ODIHR’s ongoing monitoring across the OSCE region.
All incidents submitted by the above organizations have been analysed by ODIHR. Those that were broadly considered to be hate crimes within the OSCE definition (criminal offence committed with a bias motive) are listed in the tables below according to the bias motivation category. Some incidents involved multiple biases and may be listed in multiple categories.
ODIHR’s insightsFor 2024, ODIHR received five reports of anti-LGBTI incidents that took place in Romania. In particular, three people were physically assaulted and sexually harassed due to their perceived association with the LGBTI community, while in a separate incident community members were threatened online. In addition, ODIHR monitored an anti-Semitic incident in which two monuments and two churches in the city centre were vandalized with graffiti depicting the Star of David. ODIHR observes that there is a low level of reporting from civil society in Romania. ODIHR did not receive any reporting on Romania relating to racist and xenophobic, anti-Roma, anti-Muslim, gender-based, other religion or belief, or disability hate incidents. This indicates potential gaps in the information reported here. |
Please note that incidents reported here are based on voluntary civil society submissions and as such do not reflect the actual number of incidents or the most targeted communities in Romania.
To address under-reporting, ODIHR encourages any civil society organizations or groups that monitor hate incidents in Romania to report these to ODIHR at hatecrimereport@odihr.pl.
To export an Excel sheet with summaries of all incidents from Romania click here and search by year and country.
CIVIL SOCIETY INCIDENT SUMMARIES
Anti-Semitic hate crime
| Date | Type of incident | Source | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-01 | Attacks against property | OSCE Office for Democratic Institution and Human Rights
|
Show info |
Anti-LGBTI hate crime
| Date | Type of incident | Source | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Violent attacks against people | ACCEPT Association
|
Show info |
| 2024-11 | Violent attacks against people | ACCEPT Association
|
Show info |
| 2024-12 | Violent attacks against people | ACCEPT Association
|
Show info |
| 2024-12 | Threats/Harassment | ACCEPT Association
|
Show info |