The Constitution of Bulgaria guarantees freedom of religion, but local governments have attempted to enforce special registration requirements on some groups not designated as historically entitled to full protection.
The widespread institutionalization of children in Bulgaria is unlikely to be consistent with the best interests of the child, and almost certainly violates Article 23 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and Articles 11, 12 and 13 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)[5] There exists a small number of individuals identifying as ethnic Macedonian in the Blagoevgrad province of Bulgaria.
"[7][8] In November 2006, the members of the European Parliament Milan Horáček, Joost Lagendijk, Angelika Beer and Elly de Groen-Kouwenhoven introduced an amendment to the accession of Bulgaria to the European Union protocol calling “on the Bulgarian authorities to prevent any further obstruction to the registration of the political party of the ethnic Macedonians (OMO-Ilinden PIRIN) and to put an end to all forms of discrimination and harassment vis-à-vis that minority.”[9] On May 28, 2018, the European Court of Human Rights made two decisive rulings against Bulgaria in violation of Article 11 (freedom of assembly and association) of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.
According to a report by Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor from 2001, Bulgarian state security forces have been known to arbitrarily arrest and abuse street children of Romani ethnic origin.
A high percentage of Romani children do not attend school, both due to poverty and a lack of proficiency in Bulgarian.
On the other hand, the mainly ethnic Roma, Free Bulgaria party has been allowed to run for elections and has achieved some success.
The end of communism has contributed to an increase in human trafficking, with the majority of victims being women forced into prostitution.
The Bulgarian government has shown some commitment to combat trafficking but has been criticized for failing to develop effective measures in law enforcement and victim protection.
[21] Social activists have raised concern that Bulgaria is lagging behind other European Union Member States in a number of international indexes which measure the protection of civil rights and liberties.