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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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ERRC presented the prestigious Silver Rose Award
(Last modified: 2010-02-04 11:42:00)
Brussels, 4 February 2010: The European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) is honoured to have been presented with the prestigious Silver Rose Award for social justice by SOLIDAR. The ERRC shares the 2010 award with Colombian Trade Union Federations and former Prime Ministers Gyula Horn (Hungary) and Pierre Mauroy (France)."
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ERRC statement on the occasion of Human Rights Day
"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights"
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)
(Last modified: 2009-12-10 14:00:00)
10 December 2009, Budapest: Today marks the 61st anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) by the General Assembly of the United Nations. This year, Human Rights Day is devoted to non discrimination and the right to equality; it is celebrated around the world with the motto "Embrace Diversity, End Discrimination".
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Czech Prime Minister Apologises to Victims of Coercive Sterilisation
(Last modified: 2009-11-23 19:08:54)
Budapest, Prague, 23 November 2009: During a press conference today the Czech Prime Minister Mr Jan Fischer expressed his regret over instances of coerced sterilisation which have occurred in the country. From the 1970s until 1990, the Czechoslovak government sterilised Romani women programmatically, as part of policies aimed at reducing the "high, unhealthy" birth rate of Romani women. Until recently the practice continued, albeit sporadically.
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NGOs call for EU response to substandard Roma and Traveller housing across the Union
(Last modified: 2009-10-19 16:10:54)
Brussels, 20 October 2009: The European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) and Pavee Point Travellers Centre welcome the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights' report, "Housing conditions of Roma and Travellers in the European Union", launched today at a conference in Brussels. The findings of this study confirm that despite the efforts made on the part of some governments, the overall housing situation of many Roma and Travellers in the EU is dire.
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ERRC Urges Bulgarian Authorities to Act against Forced Evictions
(Last modified: 2009-10-02 16:24:54)
Budapest, 28 September 2009: Today the European Roma Rights Centre sent four letters of concern to the Bulgarian Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, National Ombudsman and the Mayor of Burgas in connection with the 8 September forced eviction of Romani families in Burgas' Gorno Ezerovo neighbourhood. The families, consisting of approximately 80 adults and 80 children under the age of 18, are living on the streets following the destruction of their homes as municipal authorities failed to provide alternative accommodation. The ERRC also expressed concern about planned evictions of Romani families in Burgas' Meden Rudnik neighbourhood and Sofia's Voenna Rampa neighbourhood.
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European Committee finds Bulgaria in violation of right to social assistance
(Last modified: 2009-08-06 18:45:54)
Strasbourg, 6 August 2009: In a ruling made public today, the European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR) unanimously found that Bulgaria is in violation of the European Social Charter by failing to meet its obligations to ensure that any person who is without adequate resources has access to the social assistance provided by the state. The ruling was issued in response to a collective complaint filed by the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) in 2008, in cooperation with the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (BHC), regarding the 2006 and 2008 amendments of the Bulgarian Social Assistance Act (SSA) which drastically limit the time citizens are eligible for social assistance. The complaint argued that these limitations had an illegal and disproportionate impact on Roma, women and other marginalised groups.
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Roma Rights 1, 2009 Hard Times for Roma: Economics, Politics and Violence
(Last modified: 2009-07-31 12:35:22)
For some time now, extremism has been visible in several European countries. Political parties espousing an explicit anti-immigrant, anti-Romani and/or anti-Semitic agenda are gaining electoral success and support from the public. The June 2009 European Parliament elections exemplified this tendency: In several countries, extremist political parties achieved unprecedented success and now enjoy increased political power.
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UN Committee Finds Serbia Violated Torture Convention
(Last modified: 2009-07-24 17:40:22)
Geneva, 24 July 2009: The UN Committee Against Torture (the Committee) has considered the case of violence and racial abuse against a Romani man and as of 8 May 2009 issued a decision finding Serbia to have been in violation of a number of provisions of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT).
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ERRC Calls on Canada to Press Czech Republic on Anti-Romani Discrimination
(Last modified: 2009-07-15 11:52:22)
Budapest, Prague, 15 July 2009: Responding to the Government of Canada’s announcement that it was re-imposing visa requirements on Czech nationals due to the influx of Czech Roma asylum seekers, the European Roma Rights Centre yesterday called on the Canadian Government to address the root cause of Roma claims, namely persistent discrimination against the Roma minority in the Czech Republic and throughout Europe.
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ERRC receives Gruber Foundation International Justice Prize
(Last modified: 2009-06-11 16:47:22)
New York, 11 June 2009: The European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) is proud to announce that it has been awarded the prestigious Justice Prize of the Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation on the tenth anniversary of the Gruber Prize Program. The ERRC will share this award with Bryan Stevenson, Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI). The Gruber Foundation Justice Prize is presented to individuals or organisations for contributions that have advanced the cause of justice, as delivered through the legal system. The award is intended to acknowledge individual efforts, as well as to encourage further advancements in the field and progress towards bringing about a fundamentally just world.
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NGOs Underline The Failure Of Hungarian Authorities to Address Rising Number of Hate Crimes Against Roma
(Last modified: 2009-05-08 17:58:22)
Budapest, 8 May 2009: The European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC), the Legal Defence Bureau for National and Ethnic Minorities (NEKI), and the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (TASZ) released a report criticizing the response of the Hungarian authorities to the murder of two Romani people on 23 February 2009, in Tatárszentgyörgy, Hungary. In the brutal attack, a Roma man and his four-year-old son were shot dead as they were trying to escape from their house that had been fire-bombed moments before.
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Human Rights Groups Urge European Commission to Commence Infringement Proceedings against Italy
(Last modified: 2009-05-05 15:50:22)
Brussels, Budapest, Florence, New York, 5 May 2009: Under the guise of conducting a census for humanitarian reasons, Italy is consistently violating the fundamental rights of Roma and Sinti enshrined in EU law, according to letters submitted to the European Commission by rights groups yesterday. In the letters, directed to European Commissioners Spidla and Barrot, the European Roma Rights Centre, osservAzione and the Open Society Institute requested that the Commission launch infringement proceedings addressing Italy's non-compliance with the EU Race Equality Directive and the EU Data Protection Directive.
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Rights Coalition Calls on Canada to Take a Leading Role in Protecting Czech Roma from Persecution
(Last modified: 2009-05-05 09:50:22)
5 May 2009: One day ahead of the EU-Canada Summit in Prague, a coalition of human rights groups addressed Mr Jason Kenney, Canada's Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, expressing concern about Canadian officials apparently calling on Czech authorities to take action to prevent Romani asylum claimants from arriving in Canada. The coalition consisted of the European Roma Rights Centre, Peacework Development Fund, the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions, the Roma Community Centre - Toronto, European Dialogue, the European Roma Information Office, The Romani Archives and Documentation Center at the University of Texas and Zvule prava o.s.
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ERRC Urges New Czech Government to Sustain and Strengthen Human Rights Mechanisms
(Last modified: 2009-04-24 16:50:22)
Budapest, 24 April 2009: Today, the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) sent a letter to Czech politicians in response to reports that the Ministry of Human Rights and Ethnic Minorities may be disolved, encouraging the new government to keep the Ministry intact. In its letter, the ERRC highlighted the importance of the Ministry given the current rise of anti-Romani violence, neo-Nazi marches in Romani communities and racially motivated attacks, while noting that discrimination against Roma in Czech Republic affects all areas of life.
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Human Rights Groups Urge Thorough Follow-up into Recent Incident of Police Violence and Abuse of Romani Boys in Slovakia
(Last modified: 2009-04-21 12:58:22)
21 April 2009, Budapest, London: Today, the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) and Amnesty International (AI) called for the government of Slovakia to ensure that a thorough and unbiased investigation is conducted of the recent incident of physical abuse, inhuman and degrading treatment of six Romani boys in Kosice, Slovakia by the police. In a letter to the government and police officials, ERRC and AI requested that the perpetrators be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, that adequate compensation be provided to the victims and that senior government and police officials offer apologies for the suffering caused by the responsible police officers.
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European Committee Rules Bulgaria is Violating the Right to Health Care for Roma People
(Last modified: 2009-04-20 17:52:22)
Strasbourg, France, 18 April 2009: In a ruling released today, the European Committee of Social Rights found that Bulgaria is in violation of the European Social Charter by failing to meet its obligations to ensure that Roma have adequate access to the health care system. The ruling was issued in response to a collective complaint filed by the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) in 2007. The ruling was welcomed by the ERRC and the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (BHC), which cooperated closely in the preparation of the complaint.
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International Human Rights Groups Urge Human Rights Respect of Roma and Government-Roma Partnership
(Last modified: 2009-04-8 18:16:22)
8 April 2009, Budapest, Brussels: Today, the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) and Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged Serbian authorities to take immediate and decisive action to ensure an adequate and sustained alternative accommodation to the 47 Romani families forcibly evicted by authorities in Novi Beograd on 3 April. The organisations also requested that the individuals concerned be given compensation for lost property and other damage associated with the forced eviction and destruction of property.
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Hungarian Rights Groups Denounce Anti-Romani Statements by Hungary's Parliamentary Commissioner for Civil Rights
(Last modified: 2009-04-6 11:00:22)
Budapest, 3 April 2009: On 2 April 2009, Dr Máté Szabó, Parliamentary Commissioner for Civil Rights, stated in an interview with the online news portal FigyeloNet, amongst other things, that "criminality categorised on an ethnic basis" - "Gypsy crime" - exists, identifying it as a type of crime performed to earn a living. He also referred to Roma as being "a collectivist, almost tribal level social group," comparing them to the individualist Hungarian society. Furthermore, Dr Szabó stated that the attention of the majority society should be drawn to the existence of this specific criminal profile; he also presented himself as the Parliamentary Commissioner of the majority in contrast with the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Rights of National and Ethnic Minorities - thus openly suggesting that he does not regard himself as a representative of members of the Roma minority.
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