Special projects
Trafficking Romani youth and women in Eastern and Central Europe: Analysing the effectiveness of national laws and policies in prevention and victim support
(Last modified: 2009-03-23 15:40:08)
To date, research and data have been very limited on the issue of trafficking of Romani youth and women in Central and Eastern Europe, despite numerous reports on trafficking highlighting the fact that minority groups, particularly Romani communities (in Europe) are particularly vulnerable to this modern from of slavery. The availability of data regarding trafficking has been linked to better policies and improved anti-trafficking work, thus concrete information on how the Romani community is affected by THB is vital to addressing this issue. Consequently, the ERRC in partnership with People in Need Slovakia (Clovek v tisni) on a project to analyse trends in and the current state of legislation, data collection, framework policies and structures and victim support services for victims of trafficking in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia, in light of international and European conventions and related recommendations by intergovernmental bodies. This project, which is part of the European Commission's Daphne III Programme 2007-2013, will take place over the next 2 years.
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Empowerment of Roma to Fight Rights Deprivation
(Last modified: 2009-03-23 15:30:08)
In September 2008, the ERRC began work on a 2-year project to empower grassroots Romani organisations to participate effectively in the development of legal and policy tools for protection against discrimination and to increase the prominence of issues of non-compliance of domestic law and practice with international human rights standards. Capacity-building actions in Romani grassroots organisations will include targeted training by the ERRC; collaboration between the ERRC and Roma NGOs in formulating advocacy strategies to amend legislation and policies which have an adverse impact on Roma; and joint advocacy actions at the national and international levels. Such domestic and international advocacy actions are intended to prompt a reaction from civil society and international monitoring bodies to pressure governments to comply with their obligations under international human rights law. This project is implemented with support from the United Nations Democracy Fund.
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Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) study "Respecting, Protecting and Promoting the Right to Free Movement and Residence in the Member States of the European Union: The Case of the Roma"
(Last modified: 2009-03-23 14:52:08)
In December 2009, the ERRC began work on a study commissioned by the Fundamental Rights Agency concerning the movement of Romani EU citizens within the EU, focusing on the movement of Roma to Finland, France, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom. The ERRC is implementing this study in consortium with Fundacíon Secretariado Gitano (FSG), Fédération nationale des associations solidaires (FNASAT), Finnish League for Human Rights (FLHR), European Roma Information Office (ERIO), European Dialogue (ED) and several independent expert researchers. Within this study, the ERRC will conduct qualitative research on the respect, protection and promotion of the right of Romani EU citizens to move freely and reside in other EU Member States, in order to provide the FRA, EU institutions and Member States with important information for the development of effective policies and measures to address the needs of this population.
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European Commission (EC) study "Activities to Improve the Impact of Policies, Programmes and Projects Aimed at the Social Inclusion and Non-Discrimination of Roma People in the EU"
(Last modified: 2009-02-25 10:50:08)
In response to widespread recognition of persistent discrimination and social exclusion of Roma, stakeholders including European Union institutions, European governments, inter-governmental bodies, funding institutions, and civil organisations have focused increasingly on policy and programming measures to effect positive change in the lives of Roma. The ERRC, in consortium with the Roma Education Fund (REF), will conduct a study to evaluate these efforts.
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Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) study "Comparative report on the housing conditions of Roma and Travellers in the EU"
(Last modified: 2009-02-24 15:50:08)
In January 2009, the ERRC in partnership with Pavee Point Travellers Centre, began a project to explore the housing problems of Roma and Travellers across the EU, as well as highlight significant initiatives that would improve their living conditions. The study is intended to provide the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) with the essential evidence to develop conclusions and opinions for the EU institutions and Member States and assist them in developing appropriate evidence-based policies and measures to improve the housing situation of Roma and Travellers.
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Minority Rights Anti-Discrimination Capacitation in Kosovo
(Last modified: 2007-06-25 13:15:27)


From the beginning of May 2007, the ERRC will implement a 1-year project in Kosovo with its partner, Roma and Ashkaeli Documentation Centre (RADC), to further the implementation of Kosovo's anti-discrimination law. The ERRC and RADC are grateful to the British government's Foreign and Commonwealth Office for supporting this project.
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Law and policy: Actions to achieve full respect of children's rights in the Hungarian child protection system
(Last modified: 2007-07-24 10:33:08)
From the end of December 2006, the ERRC is implementing a 1-year project aimed at addressing deficiencies in the Hungarian child protection system which may enable children's rights workers and officials to work in a manner not fully respectful of fundamental rights of Romani children. Within this project, the ERRC aims to foster the effective participation of affected groups in the process of creating new legislative, policy and strategic measures through the creation of action plan which will be advocated to the relevant decision makers, as well as the eventual reform of the Hungarian child protection system, to ensure full respect of national and international children's rights provisions.
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Educational Integration of Roma: Political and Legal Preparation
(Last modified: 2006-11-22 11:08:21)
Beginning in November 2006, the ERRC is implementing a one-year project to address the problem of systemic disadvantage including the evil of racial segregation in education of Romani children in Bulgaria and the absence of action at central and local level of government to implement a comprehensive educational integration policy. The project is supported by the Roma Education Fund.
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Transpose
(Last modified: 2006-02-20 10:28:24)


Since January 2005, the Irish Traveller Movement, in partnership with the ERRC and the Milan Simecka Foundation, has been implementing a 2-year project to develop a network of experienced and competent Traveller, Roma and Sinti advocates to improve the ability of locally-based Traveller, Romani and Sinti organisations to ensure the benefits of the provisions of the EU Directives are applied to Traveller, Romani and Sinti communities who experience severe levels of racism and discrimination. In order to achieve this goal, the partners are conducting a series of 6 cumulative training events for 30 activists from Czech Republic, Hungary, Ireland, Italy and Slovakia, addressing the following themes:
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Social Inclusion Impact Assessment
(Last modified: 2006-02-16 16:06:48)
Beginning in December 2005, the ERRC is implementing a 12 month project to assess the impact of measures intened to improve access to social services for Roma in the National Action Plans of Czech Republic, France and Portugal. The project is funded by the European Community under the European Comnunity Action Programme to Combat Social Exclusion 2002 - 2006 and is implemented in partnership with the independent Portuguese research institute Numena.
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Law in Action - Developing Civil Society
(Last modified: 2006-02-16 16:06:48)

Beginning in March 2005, the ERRC is implementing an 18 month project to develop the capacities of civil society organisations in Croatia and Macedonia to undertake effective public interest law initiatives, in particular to ensure access to services delivered by local authorities and to encourage equal participation in the democratic process. The project is funded by the CARDS regional programme 2003 of the European Commission and is implemented in partnership with the Zagreb-based Croatian Law Center (CLC) and the Kumanov-based Roma Community Center DROM.

In the project, the ERRC is mentoring the CLC and DROM to transfer best practice in monitoring, strategic litigation and legal advocacy. As part of the project, 18 strategic cases will be jointly brought before domestic courts in Croatia and Macedonia in which Roma have suffered severe forms of discrimination, 6 joint legal advocacy actions undertaken to change central and local government policies, laws and practices that discriminate against Roma, and 4 workshops held to train human rights activists and lawyers working for CSOs in Croatia and Macedonia.

Further information on the European Community's CARDS regional programme is available on the Internet at: http://europa.eu.int/comm/enlargement/cards/index_en.htm.
Roma Rights in Turkey
(Last modified: 2006-02-06 13:08:05)



Starting from January 2006, the ERRC will implement a two-year project aimed at promoting Roma rights in Turkey. The project is funded by the European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights of the European Commission and is implemented in partnership with the Istanbul-based Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly (hCA), Bilgi University’s Human Rights Law Research Centre (HRLRC) and Centre for Migration Research (CMR), and the Edirne-based Romani Cultural Research, Solidarity and Development Association (EDÇİNKAY).

The action proposed by the ERRC seeks to build capacity of Roma and other civil society actors to engage in effective advocacy for the rights of Roma and to raise awareness in Turkish society about the human rights problems facing the Romani population. The ERRC will conduct human rights training of Roma activists aimed at capacitating rights advocates to seek promotion of Roma rights through a range of actions including legal defense, advocacy for governmental social inclusion policies and international advocacy. Furthermore, through anti-discrimination advocacy training of human rights groups and through strategic litigation challenging racially-motivated violence and abuse of Roma, the proposed action will mobilise resources into the broader civil society to challenge racial discrimination affecting Roma and other minority groups.
Transnational Project “Roma and Sinti Participation for Effective Policy in Employment and Education”
(Last modified: 2005-05-09 14:58:58)


In April 2005 the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF) in partnership with the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) and the European Roma Information Office (ERIO) launched the transnational project “Roma and Sinti Participation for Effective Policy in Employment and Education”. The project is part of the EU Community Action Program to Combat Discrimination “Transnational actions for the development of policy and/or legal responses to the fight against discrimination on grounds of racial or ethnic origin, religion or beliefs, disability, age and sexual orientation”.
Roma Access to Health Care
(Last modified: 2005-01-13 13:42:08)
Roma in an Enlarged European Union
(Last modified: 2004-09-14 08:42:30)
The ERRC is a consortium partner, with Focus Consultancy and the European Roma Information Office (ERIO) on a project tendered by the European Union's Directorate General on Employment and Social Affairs on “Roma in an Enlarged European Union”
Housing rights project work in Slovakia
(Last modified: 2004-09-14 08:42:47)
The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office has co-funded project “Defending Roma Housing Rights in Slovakia”. The project involves field research, litigation and training components. An initial phase of the project involved legal research and factual research into the housing rights situation of Roma in Slovakia. The ERRC designed research methodologies for researchers and supervised a number of local research projects. On the basis of this research, a number of domestic and international lawsuits have been filed, focussing on Roma housing rights issues. In addition, the ERRC, in partnership with the Bratislava-based Milan Šimecka Foundation and with the co-operation of the Geneva-based Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions, prepared a training manual for Slovak Romani activists entitled, "Defending Roma Housing Rights in Slovakia: A Training Manual on International Law and the Right to Adequate Housing", tailored to the needs of Slovak Roma. The manual was translated into Slovak and published in 1,000 copies in March 2004. On March 6 and 7, 2004, the ERRC, the MSF and COHRE held a housing rights training workshop in Košice. Currently, the project partners are working on an advocacy campaign to improve the transposition of international legal standards related to the right to adequate housing into the Slovak domestic legal framework. For further information on the project, please contact Tara Bedard: tara@errc.org
Ukraine project work
(Last modified: 2004-07-15 12:48:09)
The EU has funded a project entitled "Defending the rights of Roma in Ukraine and ensuring their access to justice". The ERRC, in collaboration with Uzhorod-based Romani organisation Romani Yag, has made the final selection of participant NGOs in the project. On February 21, 2004, a project-launching conference was held for all project partners, during which the roles and tasks to be performed by each of the project participants were discussed. In March 2004, the ERRC and Romani Yag undertook preparations for the first three trainings envisioned in the project. In May 2004, the first such training, a training for local monitors, was held in Lviv. Early June 2004, training for advocacy officers and paralegals was undertaken in Odessa. Also in the preparatory period, the ERRC was searching for matching funding for the project, and ensured a contribution from the Kiyv-based Renaissance foundation. For further information on the project, please contact Istvan Fenyvesi: istvan@errc.org
Russia project work
(Last modified: 2004-07-15 12:48:09)
The ERRC secured four special grants to undertake project work on Russia during the period, and these have considerably expanded ERRC capacities in both ERRC Programmes and the ERRC Legal Department. In addition to activities detailed elsewhere, of particular relevance for ERRC Research and Policy are the following:

  • "Researching and Defending Roma/Gypsy Rights in Russia" (November 1, 2003 - March 31, 2005) supported by the Global Opportunities Fund of the Foreign Commonwealth Office (United Kingdom). The project includes extensive human rights documentation and field research to result inter alia in the preparation of an ERRC Country Report on the human rights situation of Roma in Russia. Other project components include litigation and human rights training.

  • "Monitoring and Defence of the Rights of Roma and Other Gypsy-like Minorities in the Caucasus and Russia" supported by the Human Rights and Peace-building Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Netherlands). It provides supplementary funding toward the Country Report, litigation, human rights training and network-building activities envisioned under the Global Opportunities Fund project.

  • "Improving Public Perception of Roma in Russia through the Media", supported by the OSI Media Network Program. The project will support and develop activities of the "Romani Duma" (Samara) and "Romano Kher" (Moscow) in the field of Roma media and media publishing and broadcasting on Roma rights issues. The aim of the project is to publish materials on Roma rights issues in an insert to Samara's (Volga region) leading newspaper and broadcast on a major Moscow radio 1-hour weekly programmes on Roma issues and other Gypsy-type minorities for central Russia.


    • For further information about ERRC activities in Russia, please contact Leonid Raihman: raihman@policy.hu
    Personal Documents and Threats to the Exercise of Fundamental Rights among Roma in the former Yugoslavia
    (Last modified: 2004-06-03 12:48:01)
    A serious obstacle to the exercise of basic rights by Roma in the countries of the former Yugoslavia is a lack of basic documents, including but not limited to:
  • Birth certificates;

  • Personal identity documents;

  • Local residence permits;

  • Documents related to (in most cases, state-provided) health insurance, as well as social welfare;

  • Passports.


    • And, in the most extreme of cases, a lack of citizenship in countries of birth or to which the individual at issue has legitimate ties, in the sense of international laws and standards on citizenship, and in particular citizenship in the context of state succession. In a disturbing number of cases, this has given rise to the anathema phenomenon of statelessness among Roma.
    Implementing European Anti-Discrimination Law
    (Last modified: 2004-06-03 12:48:01)
    "Implementing European Anti-Discrimination Law" is a three-year initiative which aims to support local and regional groups and individuals in making the most of the historic opportunity for enhanced anti-discrimination efforts created by the recently adopted European Union Race Equality Directive and Protocol No. 12 to the European Convention on Human Rights. The Project started in January 2001, and focuses on the 15 EU member states and 11 candidate countries (Turkey and 10 in Central and Eastern Europe). Working in conjunction with local NGOs and individuals, the Project engages in three principal activities, each designed to promote the Directive's effective application and the ProtocolÂ’s timely entry into force
      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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