EUROPEAN ROMA RIGHTS CENTRE

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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.

European Court of Human Rights Fails to Find Discrimination in Education against Roma in Croatia (Last modified: 2008-07-18 13:55:22) 18 July 2008, Budapest, Zagreb: In a setback for Roma rights, the European Court of Human Rights yesterday ruled that Croatia's segregation of Roma children in separate classes does not breach European human rights standards. The judgment in the case of Orsus and Others v. Croatia held that the applicants - 14 Romani children attending primary school - were not subjected to discrimination in access to education. As a result, the Court found no violation of Article 3 (prohibition against inhuman and degrading treatment) or Article 2, Protocol 1 (right to education) of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR), in connection with Article 14 (non-discrimination), or of Article 13 (effective domestic remedy). The Court found that the government of Croatia had violated Article 6(1) of the ECHR (right to due process and fair trial) as the proceedings before the Constitutional Court in Croatia lasted more than four years. The application was filed by the European Roma Rights Centre, in partnership with the Croatian Helsinki Committee and Croatian attorney Lovorka Kusan.
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Ukrainian Authorities Urged to Ensure Justice for Roma (Last modified: 2008-07-18 13:55:22) On 15 July 2008, the ERRC addressed the Ukrainian Minister of Interior, Mr Iurii Lutsenko, to express deep concern about the failure of the Ukrainian justice system with respect to serious breaches of the fundamental human rights of Roma in Ukraine.
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Hundreds of Activists Support Campaign for Compensation for Coercively Sterilised Romani Women (Last modified: 2008-07-15 11:35:22) Romani Women's Rights Coalition Successfully Reaches Global Women's Movement 15 July 2008, Budapest, Prague, Ostrava: Starting at the beginning of July, members of the Ostrava-based Group of Women Harmed by Sterilisation and their advocates from European Roma Rights Centre and Peacework Development Fund initiated a campaign to activate the global women's rights movement in lobbying efforts for public recognition of coerced sterilisation and compensation for Romani survivors of these practices in Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia.
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Anti-Romani Developments in Italy Highlighted in a Report Launched by NGOs at the OSCE Meeting on Sustainable Roma Policy (Last modified: 2008-07-10 17:35:22) International NGO Coalition Report Outlines Extreme Deterioration of Roma Rights in Italy 10 July 2008, Budapest, Bucharest, Geneva, Vienna: Today, a coalition of NGOs launched a report on the deterioration of the human rights situation of Roma and Sinti in Italy, on the occasion of the OSCE's Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting on Sustainable Policies for Roma and Sinti Integration in Vienna. Coalition members include the European Roma Rights Centre, the Open Society Institute, the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions, Romani Criss and the Roma Civic Alliance of Romania.
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Support the Campaign of Romani Survivors of Coerced Sterilisation for Apologies and Compensation (Last modified: 2008-07-03 13:35:22) 3 July 2008, Budapest, Madrid, Ostrava, Prague: Today, a coalition comprised of the Ostrava-based Group of Women Harmed by Sterilisation, the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) and the Peacework Development Fund launch a global campaign seeking support for Romani women victimised by coerced sterilisation practices in Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia. The campaign is supported by the Open Society Institutes Public Health Program and the Heinrich Boll Stiftung Warsaw.
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NGO Coalition Urges CERD Intervention on Italy's Roma Crisis (Last modified: 2008-07-02 13:35:22) 2 July 2008: Budapest, Geneva, Bucharest: Today, a Coalition of organisations submitted a memorandum requesting that the UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) engage its follow-up procedure or urgent action/early warning mechanism with regard to the anti-Romani crisis in Italy. The Coalition urged the CERD Committee to undertake an immediate examination of the current situation and closely monitor the human rights situation in Italy.
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European Roma Policy Coalition Statement on EU Social Agenda (Last modified: 2008-07-02 13:35:22) 2 July 2008, Budapest, Brussels: Today, the European Roma Policy Coalition, of which the ERRC is a member, issued a statement highlighting the failure of the EU�s Social Agenda, announced today, to propose any long term strategy aimed at Roma inclusion. In its statement, the ERPC called on the European Commission to devise an ambitious Framework Strategy matched by a Community Action Programme and supported by an institutional co-ordination mechanism with quantifiable targets and benchmarks; introduce an effective monitoring mechanism; and build upon current initiatives such as the Decade of Roma Inclusion, devised in close cooperation with member states and civil society.
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Bulgarian Authorities Urged to Stop Planned Forced Eviction of Roma (Last modified: 2008-07-02 16:55:22) ERRC Advocates Sustainable and Adequate Housing Solutions for Bulgarian Roma 2 July 2008, Budapest: Today, the ERRC urged Bulgarian authorities to undertake urgent action to stop the forced eviction of approximately 180 Roma from the Batalova Vodenitsa neighbourhood in the Vazrazhdane district of Sofia, planned for 11 July 2008. In its letter, addressed to Bulgarias President Georgi Parvanov and Sofias Mayor Boyko Borisov, the ERRC recalled that the Bulgarian state has a positive obligation to ensure that evictions, when carried out, satisfy respect for the dignity of the persons concerned, even when they are illegal occupants, and that alternative accommodation or other compensatory measures are available in order to ensure that the persons evicted are not made homeless.
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Croatian Lawmakers Urged to Include Protection against Segregation in Comprehensive Anti-Discrimination Law (Last modified: 2008-06-27 16:55:22) 27 June 2008, Budapest: On 20 June 2008, the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) and the Roma Education Fund (REF) send letters to key Croatian authorities urging them to include protections against segregation as a form of discrimination within the scope of the comprehensive anti-discrimination law currently under development in Croatia. The draft law, being discussed in the Croatian Parliament today, would transpose the EU Race Equality Directive 2000/43/EC into the domestic legal framework, as required prior to Croatia joining the European Union.
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ERRC Urges Italian Authorities to Go Ahead with Housing Project for Roma (Last modified: 2008-06-09 17:03:22) 9 June, Budapest: On 6 June 2008, the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) sent a letter to Italian authorities in Mestre, Italy, urging them to go ahead with a housing project for Roma. The ERRC letter was sent following the suspension of the project in the wake of protests organised by members of the Northern League, a far right political party in Italy. In its letter, copied to the Italian President, Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, as well as the Council of Europes Human Rights Commissioner and the UN Special Rapporteur on Housing, the ERRC expressed its support for the project, which may set a positive example for Italian authorities.
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ERRC Welcomes European Court Judgment on Segregated Education of Roma in Greece (Last modified: 2008-06-06 10:03:22) ECHR Confirms that Segregated Education of Roma is Illegal 5 June 2008, Budapest: The ERRC welcomes a judgment issued today by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in the case of Sampanis and Others v. Greece (application no. 32526/05). The applicants, of Romani ethnic origin and residing in a settlement located in the "Psari" area of Aspropyrgos, Attica, were represented by Greek Helsinki Monitor (GHM), an Athens-based NGO. Their allegations concerned the refusal of education authorities to enroll their children in the local primary school during the school year 2004-2005 and their subsequent placement in an annex to the local primary school, attended only by Roma, located five kilometres from the primary school.
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ERRC Highlights Roma Rights Concerns in Russia (Last modified: 2008-06-05 10:03:22) Russia's Progress Regarding ICERD Guarantees under Review 3 June 2008, Budapest, Geneva: Today the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) submitted a comprehensive parallel report on the human rights situation of Roma in Russia to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, in advance of the Committees July/August 2008 review of Russias compliance with the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD). The report is based on extensive first hand research and media monitoring undertaken by the ERRC.
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ERRC Calls Italian Government to Stop Anti-Romani Pogroms (Last modified: 2008-05-19 10:03:22) On 16 May 2008, the European Roma Rights Centre sent a letter to high-ranking Italian government authorities demanding intervention following anti-Romani pogroms taking place in Naples. The letter, sent to the Italian Prime Minister, the Italian President, the Minister of Interior, the head of the Italys National Office Against Racial Discrimination and the Public Prosecutor, pointed to similarities between the recent events in Italy and anti-Romani pogroms taking place in Romania in the early 1990s, for which the European Court of Human Rights has ruled against Romania three times since 2005. The ERRC also highlighted the responsibility of high ranking Italian politicians for contributing to the current climate of hostility against Roma in Italy.
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Roma Rights 4, 2007: Child Protection

(Last modified: 2008-04-24 12:11:10)

Child protection is a rapidly developing field in human rights; in the last decades, both the practices and the international legal frameworks have substantially changed and an increasing number of civic initiatives concentrated on this topic became active. With the hope of stimulating an international debate on child protection systems and the position of Roma, this Roma Rights Quarterly is devoted to the topic of Child Protection.

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Vacancy Notice: Executive Director