Roma rights

Within the framework of the protection of the rights of ethnic minorities in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, we focus in particular on the protection of the rights of Romani women and men. We perceive huge systemic discrimination against this ethnic group in both countries and our goal is to gradually narrow the gap between the majority population and the Roma communities. We are aware that many Roma women and men do not have access to basic rights such as the right to decent housing, water and a safe environment, that many Roma children are discriminated against in education and that segregation still occurs in many schools and nurseries. We point to the historical injustices that have not yet been corrected, in particular the sterilisation of Roma women, but also the systematic segregation and discrimination of the Roma people in housing, education, employment and access to justice. Last but not least, we are working to combat racist and hateful manifestations against the Roma minority that polute public space and social networks.

Our legal team focuses on the following areas

  • Right to water and environmental justice
  • The right to adequate housing
  • Inclusive education for Roma children
  • Access to justice for victims of police violence
  • Combating profiling and racism in the criminal justice system 
  • Combating hate speech against the Roma minority on the internet and social media
  • Helping victims of hate speech

These topics are covered by the following projects:

Collective complaints

In order to protect the rights of the Roma minority, we filed several collective complaints with the European Committee on Social Rights in cooperation with partner organizations:

Our main partners