Journalists
Sinan Gökçen, Media and Communications Officer: sinan.gokcen@errc.org, +36.30.500.1324 (mobile).
Information on the latest developments is available here; search our archive for other relevant material.
ERRC Urges End to Anti-Roma Activity Under ‘Unlawful’ Italian State of Emergency
Rome, Budapest, 24 November 2011: The European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) today sent a letter to authorities in Italy, welcoming a judgment from the national Council of State that the State of Emergency, in effect in parts of Italy since May 2008, is unlawful and urging the immediate end to all anti- Roma activities organised as part of the State of Emergency... more
ERRC Calls on Portuguese Authorities to Halt Forced Eviction
Budapest, 17 October 2011: In a letter sent to Portuguese authorities today, the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) called for a halt to the planned forced eviction of a settlement in Bairro da Torre in Loures municipality... more
Bulgaria Must Ensure the Safety of its Romani Citizens
Budapest, 29 September 2011: The European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) sent a letter to Bulgarian authorities today, raising concerns about the anti-Roma violence and protests taking place across the country... more
No Place for Roma: French and Italian Authorities Aggressively Evict Roma
Budapest, Marseille, Rome, 11 August 2011: The Sarkozy Government’s infamous campaign to evict and deport Roma from France, which rose to prominence one year ago, is continuing aggressively. In Marseille, between June and August 2011 alone, a minimum of 500 Roma have been evicted from camps ... more
Breaking the Silence: Trafficking in Romani Communities
Estimates provided during research by the ERRC and PiN about the perceived representation of Roma among trafficked persons in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia are several times higher than the proportion of Roma among the general population, indicating a disproportionate impact of this practice on Romani communities. Romani women and children were found to be particularly vulnerable to trafficking, which brings Roma to other countries and to other locations within their home countries. Roma are trafficked for various purposes, including sexual exploitation, labour exploitation, domestic servitude, organ trafficking, illegal adoption and forced begging. The vulnerability factors identified in this study are closely linked to those commonly associated with non-Romani trafficked persons and include structural forms of ethnic and gender discrimination, poverty and social exclusion which result in low educational achievement, high levels of unemployment, usury, growing up in State care, domestic violence and substance abuse... more
Imperfect Justice: Anti-Roma Violence and Impunity
ERRC monitoring of the State response to 44 selected cases of anti-Roma violence in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia shows that many Romani victims of violent crimes do not secure justice. A limited number of perpetrators of violent attacks against Roma are successfully identified, investigated and prosecuted. Even fewer are eventually imprisoned for the crimes they have committed against Roma. The failure of law enforcement authorities to identify the perpetrators of crimes against Roma or to recognise racial motivation in a considerable number of investigations creates a climate of impunity and may encourage further acts of violence against Roma.... more
