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
  • Helping victims of hate speech

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:

In our project activities we focus on the right to water, environmental justice, combating hate speech against the Roma communities on the internet and social media, and the protection of victims of hate speech. These topics are covered by the following projects:

  • Social Determinants of Roma Health in Slovakia – Access to Water and Waste Management 
  • Waste disposal practices in Roma settlements in Slovakia – Environmental Justice for Marginalized Groups from Legal and Sociological Perspectives
  • Challenging online and offline Roma discrimination in Europe (COORDE)
  • Combating hate speech on the internet against Roma in the Czech Republic
  • Freedom from Hate: Empowering civil society to counter cyberhate against Roma (project completed in 2020)

Our main partners are: