Message from the Executive Director
(Last modified: 2007-06-05 18:19:54)
Ten years ago, the ERRC was designed as an international public interest law organisation, which defends the rights of Roma. Its purpose is to act as public advocate on behalf of the transnational and geographically diverse Romani community. The ERRC serves as legal resource centre for the effective protection of Roma rights.
The ERRC has undergone a number of changes over the past year. At the end of 2006, Dimitrina Petrova left the ERRC and her position as Executive Director. I am the newly appointed Executive Director. My strong conviction to see equal rights implemented for ALL has driven me in my professional and voluntary work over the past 15 years. I am delighted to work with a dedicated team of Roma and non-Roma at the ERRC.
The ERRC has not only looked into discrimination and violent forms of racism against Roma, but also the precarious housing situation of many Roma living in Eastern and Western Europe. Women's and children's rights, as well as the access of Roma to employment are of increasing concern to the ERRC. With regards to access to education, Romani children are segregated in school in many parts of Europe and do not receive proper education and training. The ERRC has fought many cases through national and international legal systems and has achieved ground breaking precedents. However, we must acknowledge that the situation of Roma is still far from satisfactory.
While the Romani movement and organisations working on Romani issues see sheer negligence on the part of some governments and decision makers to acknowledge the extensive problems the Roma community, other countries have announced plans and strategies indicating the political will to tackle the exclusion of Roma in society. Such political will might at times be driven by outside pressure to comply with EU standards or the interest to attract international donors in this area. While the political will of governments to work on Roma issues is a necessary starting point for real change, this change has not yet happened and even seems to remain far away. It appears that there is no shortage of initiatives undertaken. However, in analysing, for example, the implementation of The Decade on Roma Inclusion I do not acquire an optimistic temper. The Decade has still 8 years to run but if the assessment of progress and success of the Decade solely rests in the hands of governments, which are responsible for its implementation, I am afraid that the Decade and other such policies will remain a dead letter. However, knowledge that other non-governmental stakeholders are watching and evaluating the progress made in the Decade this attunes my sentiment to be more optimistic.
Fundamental measures such as Positive Action and Statutory Duties of public and private bodies, strict implementation of equal treatment standards through anti-discrimination legislation and immediate and clear prosecution of incitement to hatred against Roma in public discourse are required. The political will of governments, announced over the past years to comply with the acquis communautaire, needs a monitoring mechanism to achieve defined goals i.e. reduction of unemployment of Roma, integrated education for Roman children, and acceptable housing standards, just to mention some. The ERRC will remain a watchdog in the Roma rights field and will not hesitate to draw international attention to discrepancies between the words and deeds of governments.
The European Union has very recently adopted the Framework Decision on Racism and Xenophobia which was meant to be a strong tool to fight racially motivated crimes. What remains is rather a skeleton of an idea of how racially motivated crimes can be tackled. However, the fact that a crime motivated by hate can incur stronger sentences is better than nothing and the ERRC will make the utmost use of this in the cases we bring to the courts.
Human rights activists and representatives of the Romani movement should establish joint forces to move the agenda forward. Both stakeholders have their respective roles to play in voicing the concerns of the Romani community towards local or national decision makers or towards intergovernmental structures with their international human rights mechanisms.
The ERRC has been criticised for not having sufficient Romani staff members. To tackle this, the ERRC must have a smoothly functioning recruitment policy. It is my objective to increase the number of Romani staff members at the ERRC through positive measures. To achieve this, the ERRC needs the support of the Romani community to spread the message and to reach as many as possible candidates of Romani background.
The ERRC is facing a challenging period. Newly arrived staff such as myself, Geraldine Scullion, the new Legal Director, and soon to be appointed Programmes Director, will settle in and put their fingerprints on the work of the ERRC. My objective is to continue shaping the legal and policy profile of the organisation with a long term perspective. I will work on a strategic plan for the coming years with extensive input from current ERRC members, as well as beyond. This will lead to annual work programmes covering current hot-spots such as discrimination against Roma in access to education, employment, health care and justice and women's rights, amongst others. I aim for clear policy and performance objectives which will be assessed at regular intervals. Only in doing, so ERRC can collect neutral evidence that the money and efforts we invested have caused improvements for Roma. I would wish to see governmental players making use of such instruments as well.
The ERRC has gained an excellent reputation for high quality research and ground breaking court cases in its first decade. These are big shoes to fill. Equality as a fundamental principle of human rights will drive the development of the ERRC under my leadership to gain confidence from Romani activists. We can work together because a life free of discrimination and the inclusion of Roma is our common goal.
Vera Egenberger
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