ERRC Launches Flagship LGBTQI+ Roma Initiative
16 May 2024
Brussels, 16 May 2024: Today, on Roma Resistance Day, the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) launches its RoMagic initiative, bringing much needed visibility to the discrimination faced by Romani LGBTIQ+ individuals, both from society and also within their Romani communities. Alongside our partners Vojvodjanski Romski Centar in Serbia and RomaJust in Romania, the ERRC will seek to foster an activist group of LGBTIQ+ Romani individuals through this initiative which will serve as a base for the ERRC’s ongoing commitment to defending all Roma from rights abuses, regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation.
Romani Family Sues Municipality of Rome for Discrimination in Housing at Former ‘La Barbuta’ Segregated Camp
22 April 2024
Brussels, 22 April 2024: A Romani family who were evicted from the ‘La Barbuta’ segregated Romani camp in September 2021 have brought a civil lawsuit against the Municipality of Rome for its failure to take positive actions to end housing segregation and provide them with adequate alternative accommodation following the closure of the camp.
Groundbreaking Supreme Court Judgment for Romani Children Denied Education in Juvenile Detention in North Macedonia
18 April 2024
Brussels, 18 April 2024: The Supreme Court of North Macedonia has issued a groundbreaking ruling in favour of the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) concerning discrimination against Romani children in the Tetovo Correctional Home (currently located in Volkovija) with regard to their right to education. The collective complaint covering a period from 14 September 2015 to 4 March 2020, accused North Macedonia’s juvenile correction system of failing to provide equal access to education for children placed in the correctional centre (direct discrimination by status). As most of the affected children were Romani, this also amounted to indirect discrimination based on ethnicity, violating the children's right to equality. The Supreme Court ordered the Court of Appeal to reassess the case and emphasised the need for a more detailed judgment. The decision included the first ever analysis of indirect discrimination by this court in a collective complaint (actio popularis), highlighting that the focus should be on unequal treatment and the differential impacts experienced by individuals in various positions.
ERRC Takes Legal Action for Romani Children Forced to Walk 7km to School in Tiszavasvári, Hungary
11 April 2024
Brussels, Budapest, 11 April 2024: The European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) and the National Association of Disadvantaged Families have taken legal action to raise serious concerns about equal access to education and the safety of Romani children from the Bűd district of Tiszavasvári who are forced to walk around seven kilometres to reach their local school after their bus service was stopped.
Legal Action Against Church-Run Hospital Denying Abortion Services for Roma in Hungary
10 April 2024
Brussels, Budapest, 10 April 2024: The European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) and the National Association of Disadvantaged Families are taking legal action against the Saint Damien Greek Catholic Hospital in Kisvárda for their denial of abortion services to women, including disadvantaged Romani women. The organisations have filed a complaint before the Deputy Commissioner for Fundamental Rights, Ombudsman for the Rights of National Minorities in Hungary.
ERRC Files Complaints Over Death of 6-Year-Old Romani Girl in Giugliano, Italy
25 March 2024
Brussels, 25 March 2024: The European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) has formally requested a comprehensive investigation into the tragic death of Michelle, a 6-year-old Romani girl who lost her life due to an electric shock at Giugliano camp in Naples, Italy.
European Court asks if Czech police used ‘more than absolutely necessary force’ in the death of Stanislav Tomáš
29 February 2024
Prague, Brussels, 29 February 2024: The European Court of Human Rights has communicated the case against the Czech Republic for the death of Romani man Stanislav Tomáš while being forcibly restrained by police officers in Teplice in 2021.