Authors: Margarita Ilieva, Emil Cohen, Slavka Kukova, Krassimir Kanev, Yuliana Metodieva, Antoaneta Nenkova, Stanimir Petrov, Iliana Savova, Daniela Fartunova, Georgi Voynov, Gabriela Galabova, Elena Krusteva
ISSN: 2367-6930
In the first half of 2009, Bulgaria was governed by the tripartite coalition of the Bulgarian Socialist Party, the National Movement Simeon II, and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms. Following the parliamentary elections on 5 July 2009, this coalition was removed from power. The elections were won by the center-right party Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB), which formed a minority government supported in parliament by several parties to the right of the center. Among them was the far-right nationalist party “Ataka,” known for its anti-minority, xenophobic, and homophobic rhetoric. In 2009, the human rights situation in Bulgaria experienced mixed developments. Both before and after the parliamentary elections, there were positive changes in some areas, as well as serious violations in others. The most affected by these violations were vulnerable social groups, including certain ethnic and religious minorities, people with mental disorders, children in institutions, women, individuals with diverse sexual orientations, certain categories of prisoners, and people living in poverty.
The report is available in Bulgarian.
