ERRC Hosts OSCE High Commissioner for National Minorities

26 February 2008

ERRC Discusses Key Roma Rights Matters During Visit by the OSCE High Commissioner for National Minorities in Budapest

Budapest: 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 László Sólyom, President of Hungary, the Foreign Affairs Minister Kinga Göncz, members of the Hungarian Parliament's foreign affairs committee and politicians of the non-governmental parties.

As an international public interest law organisation based in Budapest which works to combat anti-Romani racism and human rights abuse of Roma, the ERRC discussed several of the most pressing issues for Roma in Hungary and in Europe with Mr Vollebaek. Top of the list of issues discussed with High Commissioner Vollebaek were the new migration patterns in Europe and the impacts of such on Romani communities, child protection matters as well as the situation of Roma in Kosovo. The discussion between the High Commissioner's team and the ERRC centred around practical means to effectively address the most important concerns of Roma in Europe today.

The ERRC was honoured to be the only non-governmental organisation visited by the High Commissioner during his Hungarian visit, however ERRC drew the attention of Mr Vollebaek to the activities of the Hungarian and European Romani organisations and the importance of the partnership with them.

For more information, please contact:

Sinan Gökcen, Information Officer, sinan.gokcen@errc.org
Tel:+ 36 1 4132200