Position papers
Protecting Romani Refugees around Europe: A Position Paper by the European Roma Rights Center
(Last modified: 2004-06-02 15:09:53)
The European Roma Rights Center (ERRC) is an international public interest law organisation which monitors the situation of Roma in Europe and provides legal defence in cases of human rights abuse. The post-1989 era has been punctuated by episodes in which groups of Roma have fled countries in Central and Eastern Europe and sought international protection. In many instances, reception of Romani refugees in the countries to which they have fled has been inadequate. Asylum in Europe has become a right often not available in practice, and much of the asylum system in Europe appears infected by racism in general, and anti-Romani sentiment in particular. On the occasion of the International Consultation on Roma Refugees and Asylum Seekers organised within the framework of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Implementation Meeting on Human Dimension Issues, this position paper presents ERRC concerns in the field of asylum and refugee protection, and provides a series of recommendations aimed at their remedy.
Barriers to the Education of Roma in Europe: A position paper by the European Roma Rights Center
(Last modified: 2004-06-02 16:07:08)
For Romani children living in today's Europe, equal educational opportunity is a mirage. In some countries, more than half of the Romani child population is sent to schools for mentally handicapped children. In such schools, Romani children do not earn a diploma preparing them for life in a democratic society and competitive labor market. Quite the contrary: they are denied the right to education and emerge stigmatized as "stupid" and "retarded". They will live out their adult lives under-educated, unemployed or condemned to low-paying, menial jobs. They will be unable to realize fundamental rights, and will be deprived of basic dignity.
  European Commission
Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom
Hungarian National Civil Fund (NCA)Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Open Society InstituteThe Sigrid Rausing Trust
Swedish International Development Agency

The ERRC was the recepient of the Max van der Stoel Award (2007)
and the Geuzenpenning Award (The Geuzen medal of honour) (2001).

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