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| The European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) is an international public interest law organisation engaging in a range of activities aimed at combating anti-Romani racism and human rights abuse of Roma. The approach of the ERRC involves, in particular, strategic litigation, international advocacy, research and policy development, and training of Romani activists. |
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Support the Campaign of Romani Survivors of Coerced Sterilisation for Apologies and Compensation
(Last modified: 2008-07-03 13:35:22)
3 July 2008, Budapest, Madrid, Ostrava, Prague: Today, a coalition comprised of the Ostrava-based Group of Women Harmed by Sterilisation, the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) and the Peacework Development Fund launch a global campaign seeking support for Romani women victimised by coerced sterilisation practices in Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia. The campaign is supported by the Open Society Institutes Public Health Program and the Heinrich Boll Stiftung Warsaw.
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NGO Coalition Urges CERD Intervention on Italy's Roma Crisis
(Last modified: 2008-07-02 13:35:22)
2 July 2008: Budapest, Geneva, Bucharest: Today, a Coalition of organisations submitted a memorandum requesting that the UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) engage its follow-up procedure or urgent action/early warning mechanism with regard to the anti-Romani crisis in Italy. The Coalition urged the CERD Committee to undertake an immediate examination of the current situation and closely monitor the human rights situation in Italy. |
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Bulgarian Authorities Urged to Stop Planned Forced Eviction of Roma
(Last modified: 2008-07-02 16:55:22)
ERRC Advocates Sustainable and Adequate Housing Solutions for Bulgarian Roma
2 July 2008, Budapest: Today, the ERRC urged Bulgarian authorities to undertake urgent action to stop the forced eviction of approximately 180 Roma from the Batalova Vodenitsa neighbourhood in the Vazrazhdane district of Sofia, planned for 11 July 2008. In its letter, addressed to Bulgarias President Georgi Parvanov and Sofias Mayor Boyko Borisov, the ERRC recalled that the Bulgarian state has a positive obligation to ensure that evictions, when carried out, satisfy respect for the dignity of the persons concerned, even when they are illegal occupants, and that alternative accommodation or other compensatory measures are available in order to ensure that the persons evicted are not made homeless. |
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Croatian Lawmakers Urged to Include Protection against Segregation in Comprehensive Anti-Discrimination Law
(Last modified: 2008-06-27 16:55:22)
27 June 2008, Budapest: On 20 June 2008, the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) and the Roma Education Fund (REF) send letters to key Croatian authorities urging them to include protections against segregation as a form of discrimination within the scope of the comprehensive anti-discrimination law currently under development in Croatia. The draft law, being discussed in the Croatian Parliament today, would transpose the EU Race Equality Directive 2000/43/EC into the domestic legal framework, as required prior to Croatia joining the European Union. |
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ERRC Urges Italian Authorities to Go Ahead with Housing Project for Roma
(Last modified: 2008-06-09 17:03:22)
9 June, Budapest: On 6 June 2008, the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) sent a letter to Italian authorities in Mestre, Italy, urging them to go ahead with a housing project for Roma. The ERRC letter was sent following the suspension of the project in the wake of protests organised by members of the Northern League, a far right political party in Italy. In its letter, copied to the Italian President, Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, as well as the Council of Europes Human Rights Commissioner and the UN Special Rapporteur on Housing, the ERRC expressed its support for the project, which may set a positive example for Italian authorities. |
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ERRC Welcomes European Court Judgment on Segregated Education of Roma in Greece
(Last modified: 2008-06-06 10:03:22)
ECHR Confirms that Segregated Education of Roma is Illegal
5 June 2008, Budapest: The ERRC welcomes a judgment issued today by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in the case of Sampanis and Others v. Greece (application no. 32526/05). The applicants, of Romani ethnic origin and residing in a settlement located in the "Psari" area of Aspropyrgos, Attica, were represented by Greek Helsinki Monitor (GHM), an Athens-based NGO. Their allegations concerned the refusal of education authorities to enroll their children in the local primary school during the school year 2004-2005 and their subsequent placement in an annex to the local primary school, attended only by Roma, located five kilometres from the primary school.
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ERRC Highlights Roma Rights Concerns in Russia
(Last modified: 2008-06-05 10:03:22)
Russia's Progress Regarding ICERD Guarantees under Review
3 June 2008, Budapest, Geneva: Today the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) submitted a comprehensive parallel report on the human rights situation of Roma in Russia to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, in advance of the Committees July/August 2008 review of Russias compliance with the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD). The report is based on extensive first hand research and media monitoring undertaken by the ERRC.
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ERRC Calls Italian Government to Stop Anti-Romani Pogroms
(Last modified: 2008-05-19 10:03:22)
On 16 May 2008, the European Roma Rights Centre sent a letter to high-ranking Italian government authorities demanding intervention following anti-Romani pogroms taking place in Naples. The letter, sent to the Italian Prime Minister, the Italian President, the Minister of Interior, the head of the Italys National Office Against Racial Discrimination and the Public Prosecutor, pointed to similarities between the recent events in Italy and anti-Romani pogroms taking place in Romania in the early 1990s, for which the European Court of Human Rights has ruled against Romania three times since 2005. The ERRC also highlighted the responsibility of high ranking Italian politicians for contributing to the current climate of hostility against Roma in Italy.
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Roma Rights 4, 2007:
Child Protection
(Last modified: 2008-04-24 12:11:10)
Child protection is a rapidly developing field in human rights; in the last decades, both the practices and the international legal frameworks have substantially changed and an increasing number of civic initiatives concentrated on this topic became active. With the hope of stimulating an international debate on child protection systems and the position of Roma, this Roma Rights Quarterly is devoted to the topic of Child Protection.
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Macedonia Again Found in Violation of the European Convention on Human Rights
(Last modified: 2008-04-14 12:12:13)
Strasbourg Court Finds Violation of Article 3 in the Second Macedonian Roma Torture Case
Budapest, Strasbourg, Skopje, 10 April 2008: In a judgment announced yesterday, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Macedonia violated Article 3 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms in connection with the ill-treatment by the police of Mr Amdi Dzeladinov, Mr Dudzihan Kamilov, Ms Remzie Durmisova, Mr Dagistan Alilov and Mr Mefail (Meta) Asanovski, Macedonian nationals of Romani ethnic origin.
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UN Human Rights Committee to Review Macedonia
(Last modified: 2008-03-20 12:12:13)
ERRC Raises Concern about Roma in Macedonia
20 March 2008, Budapest: On 14 March, the ERRC submitted a comprehensive parallel report on the human rights situation of Roma in the Republic of Macedonia to the United Nations Human Rights Committee, for use during the Committees upcoming review of Macedonias compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
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Human Rights Coalition Welcomes CERD Concluding Observations on Italy
(Last modified: 2008-03-10 10:37:15)
CERD Issues Strong Recommendations for Improving the Situation of Roma and Sinti in Italy
Budapest, Florence, Geneva, Mantova, 10 March 2008: Today, the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC), the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE), osservAzione and Sucar Drom welcomed the Concluding Observations of the UN Committee on the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) on Italys compliance with the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. |
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NGO Coalition calls for EU framework strategy against Roma discrimination
(Last modified: 2008-03-06 10:37:15)
Brussels (6 March): A group of eight NGOs today launched the European Roma Policy Coalition (ERPC) to press the EU to take decisive action against Roma discrimination. In a meeting with Commissioner Spidla, the Coalition will express its concerns about the lack of coherent EU policies for Roma inclusion and present its recommendations for a more effective approach. |
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Strasbourg Court Sanctions Romania over the racially motivated ill-treatment of a Romani juvenile
(Last modified: 2008-03-05 11:13:15)
Judgment further advances anti-Roma discrimination law, Romania held in breach of the substantive limb of Article 14
Budapest, Bucharest, 5 March 2008: The European Court of Human Rights today delivered its judgment in the case of Stoica v. Romania concerning the racially motivated beating of Constantin Stoica,
a Romani youth aged 14 at the time of the incident, by police officers in the village of Gulia, commune of Dolhasca, Suceava county, Romania, and the ensuing
official investigation. The Court held that Romania is responsible for breaches of the prohibition of inhuman and degrading treatment (Article 3) in conjunction
with the prohibition of discrimination (Article 14). |
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Slovak Parliamentary Commission Recommends Overhaul of State Housing Rights
Strategy
(Last modified: 2008-02-27 04:13:15)
Civil Society Organizations Urge Deputy Prime Minister and Other Relevant Organs of Government to Adopt Detailed Strategy to Combat Housing Rights Violations
Budapest, 27 February 2008. The Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE), the Milan Simecka Foundation (MSF) and the European Roma Rights Centre
(ERRC) today welcomed publicly the recommendation by the Slovak Parliament's Committee for Human Rights, Nationalities and the Status of Women of a resolution on the
forced eviction of non-payers of rent, adopted on 29 January 2008. The resolution was adopted following a public hearing about the issue of forced evictions in the Parliamentary
Committee with participation of the Milan Simecka Foundation on 10 October 2007.
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ERRC Hosts OSCE High Commissioner for National Minorities
(Last modified: 2008-02-26 05:14:16)
ERRC Discusses Key Roma Rights Matters During Visit by the OSCE High Commissioner for National Minorities in Budapest
Budapest, 26 February 2008: Today, the European Roma Rights Centre was honored to receive Mr Knut Vollebaek, High Commissioner for National Minorities of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), at its office in Budapest. The ERRC welcomed Mr Vollebaek and his advisers during a high level visit to Hungary, in which the Commissioner met Dr Laszlo Solyom, President of Hungary, the Foreign Affairs Minister Kinga Gncz, members of the Hungarian Parliament's foreign affairs committee and politicians of the non-governmental parties.
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Roma Community Legally Challenges the Urban Renovation Project in Sulukule
(Last modified: 2008-01-29 13:16:19)
The European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) and its partners in Turkey, the Helsinki Citizen's Assembly (hCa) and Edirne Association for Research of Romani Culture and Solidarity (EDROM) have initiated a court case aiming to cancel the urban renovation project targeting Sulukule, a historical district in Istanbul that is also one of the oldest Romani settlements in Europe. The complaint was filed on 31 December 2007 at the Istanbul Administrative Court by Sulukule's own residents, represented by attorney Hilal Kuey in cooperation with the ERRC. The plaintiffs accuse the Fatih Municipality implementing the project and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism that approved its implementation of breaching domestic and international laws, including Turkey's Constitution.
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Roma Rights Coalition Targets Italy at Upcoming UN Review
(Last modified: 2008-01-18 10:11:12)
UN Racial Discrimination Committee to Review Italy, as Italian Police Continue to Terrorise Roma in Their Homes
18 January 2008, Budapest, Florence, Geneva, Mantova: Today a coalition of human rights organisations submitted a comprehensive parallel report on the human rights crisis of Roma and Sinti in Italy to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, in advance of the Committees upcoming review of Italys compliance with the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. Coalition members include international organisations European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) and Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE), and Italian organisations osservAzione and Sucar Drom.
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ERRC Conference Highlights Worrying Situation of Romani Children in the Hungarian Child Protection System
(Last modified: 2007-12-17 11:57:32)
Hungarian Romani Children Over-Represented in State Care
Budapest, 17 December 2007: At a conference hosted in Budapest today, the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) presented a report based on research conducted in 2007 which indicates a disproportionate number of children in state care in Hungary are of Romani background. The report, "Dis-Interest of the Child: Romani Children in the Hungarian Child Protection System", explores concerns related to the over-representation of Romani children in state care as well as the role of ethnic identity in state care and adoption processes. It also covers the disproportionate categorisation of Romani children in state care as mentally disabled.
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ERRC and NEKI Call for Action Against Racist Group in Hungary
(Last modified: 2007-12-13 15:29:12)
On 13 December 2007, the ERRC and NEKI submitted joint requests to the Hungarian Prosecutor General and Chief of Police of Hungary regarding racist, anti Romani activities of the Magyar Garda, a paramilitary group established in August 2007 with the stated purpose of protecting Hungarian culture and the Hungarian nation. In their request to the Chief of Police of Hungary, the ERRC and NEKI requested that the activities of Magyar Garda be monitored and that explicitly anti Romani demonstrations and other activities be stopped. In their letter of the Hungarian Prosecutor General, the ERRC and NEKI asked that the Magyar Gardas registration documents be reviewed according to the actual and racist activities of the Group and that the Prosecutor General seek the revocation of the Groups permit.
The joint requests were sent in the aftermath of the recent anti Romani activities by the Magyar Garda in Tatarszentgyorgy and statements made by the Groups representatives calling for the segregation of Roma, which aim to enhance ethnically motivated hatred.
The joint submissions are available at View it (Acrobat pdf format) and View it (Acrobat pdf format) in Hungarian.
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ERRC Welcomes CESCR Concluding Observations on Ukraine
(Last modified: 2007-12-04 11:14:17)
Concluding Observations of the CESCR on Ukraine welcomes the progress but underlines the need for further action.
The Concluding Observations, issued on 23 November 2007, followed the fifth periodic report of the Ukrainian government on its implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The Concluding Observations underlined the cooperation of the Ukrainian government and acknowledged the legislative measures adopted to promote equal opportunities and eliminate discrimination against women, and disadvantaged and marginalised individuals and groups. The Committee also welcomed the recent ratification of the Revised European Social Charter by Ukraine.
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Europe's Highest Court Finds Racial Discrimination in Czech Schools
(Last modified: 2007-11-14 10:24:45)
Landmark Victory in Roma Segregation Case
Strasbourg, 14 November 2007-In a momentous decision for Roma across Europe, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights, by a vote of 13 to four, ruled today that segregating Roma students into special schools is a form of unlawful discrimination that violates fundamental human rights.
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Italian Politician and Media Brought Under Scrutiny for Anti-Romani Speech
(Last modified: 2007-11-12 14:45:45)
ERRC calls for the Prosecution of High Level Hate Speech in Italy
In the wake of recent anti-Romani hysteria in Italy, on 12 November 2007 the ERRC sent a request to the Prosecutor of Rome, Italy's National Office Against Discrimination, General Prosecutor and Journalists Order, requesting that each office opens an investigation into hate speech by Mr Gianfranco Fini, a high ranking political figure in Italy. In its letter, the ERRC urged the head of each office to investigate both the statements made by Mr Fini, as well as the responsibility of the national Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera for publishing racist statements without any sort of editorial remark.
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ERRC Action to Challenge Exclusion of Roma from Health Care in Bulgaria
(Last modified: 2007-10-22 12:00:08)
Collective Complaint against Bulgaria under the Revised European Social Charter Claims Violation of the State's Obligation to Protect Health
Strasbourg/Budapest 22 October, 2007
The European Roma Rights Centre today brought a collective complaint under the Revised European Social Charter (RESC) against Bulgaria for persistent and systematic violations of the right to protection of health and to social and medical assistance with respect to Bulgarian Roma as guaranteed under Articles 11 and 13 of the Charter and related international standards.
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Public recognition of ERRC through 2007 Max van der Stoel Award
(Last modified: 2007-10-19 12:35:08)
ERRC is given further impetus in its struggle to better the situation of Roma in Europe.
The Hague-Budapest
The European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) is proud to announce that it has received the 2007 Max van der Stoel Award instituted by the Netherlands Foreign Ministry. This biennial award is given in honor of Max van der Stoel, the prominent Dutch statesman and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's first High Commissioner on National Minorities. Max van der Stoel is known for establishing the office of High Commissioner for National Minorities as a post which has achieving outstanding success in preventing ethnic conflicts and improving the position of national minorities in the OSCE participating States through "quiet diplomacy".
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CoE Committee of Ministers demands positive action on the housing of Bulgarian Roma
(Last modified: 2007-10-08 11:55:15)
Ambitious programme promised by the Bulgarian government
Budapest, 8 October 2007 - The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe has adopted a resolution following the European Committee on Social Rights' ruling in the case of European Roma Rights Center v Bulgaria. The resolution confirms the Committee's finding that Bulgaria was in violation of the European Social Charter for its systematic denial of the Roma's right to adequate housing.
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