World

Alliance against Antigypsyism: Antigypsyism is a major obstacle to equal citizenship for Romani people

19.7.2016 6:31 On 5 July the Alliance against Antigypsyism published its "Reference Paper on Antigypsyism", which is a specific form of racism against Roma, Sinti, Travellers and other groups stigmatized as "gypsies" in the public arena. The paper, among other things, proposes a working definition of the concept.
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Czech commentator: The Nice attack is all about the PR of fear

17.7.2016 17:01 If you want to be seen, you must be in the media, and if you want to be in the media, then you must make yourself visible. What are all these terrorist attacks really about?  full story

European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture (Berlin) seeks Executive Director

16.7.2016 12:59 The European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture (ERIAC), a joint initiative of the Alliance for the European Roma Institute, the Council of Europe, and the Open Society Foundations, has announced it is seeking its first Executive Director. ERIAC will be a foundation registered under German law and based in Berlin.  full story

UN internal human rights oversight body says it failed to hold Kosovo mission accountable for abuses such as housing Roma on contaminated land

16.7.2016 11:53 The online news server Prishtina Insight reports that an annual report published by the United Nations' own internal human rights mechanism, the Human Rights Advisory Panel (HRAP) has harshly criticized UN failures with respect to human rights in Kosovo. The HRAP called its efforts to achieve some sort of formal judgment regarding human rights abuses committed by the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) a "total failure" and said it apologized "profusely to the complainants for its role in this sham.”  full story

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: It is extremely inappropriate to "catch Pokémon" in our building

13.7.2016 13:14 The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) has called on fans of the smartphone game "Pokémon Go" to stop using their building for this new form of entertainment. The institution said it is "extremely inappropriate" for players to virtually "hunt" the virtual pokémon figures in virtual representations of a place dedicated to commemorating millions of Second World War murder victims.  full story

ROMEA releases new Czech-Norwegian documentary film about aid for victims of discrimination and hate violence

13.7.2016 8:11 A new Czech-Norwegian documentary film about the situation in those countries for victims of discrimination and hate violence has been produced by staffers of the ROMEA organization in the Czech Republic. It is now available for viewing on the YouTube channel of ROMEA TV.  full story

Slovakia: New campaign warns of the link between online hate and real-world extremism

11.7.2016 20:13 At the end of last week the Open Society Foundation (OSF) in Slovakia launched a new campaign against hate and the sharing of hateful content online under the slogan "Saying 'but' won't hide the hate". The campaign links hatred in the online world to real-world extremism in society.  full story

USA: Protests against police violence continue, resulting in hundreds of arrests

11.7.2016 19:05 In many places throughout the entre United States, more protests were held on Sunday against the incidents last week of African-American civilians being shot dead during controversial police interventions. Demonstrators assembled again in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and St. Paul, Minnesota, the cities where the controversial police shootings took place, according to CBS News.  full story

UK: Number of attacks on East European and Muslim immigrants grows by 42 % since the referendum

10.7.2016 23:25 The number of hate attacks against immigrants in Britain has increased 42 % since the June referendum in which British voters expressed their desire for their country to leave the European Union. The statistics were reported on 8 July by the British police.  full story

Germany: Merkel's popularity rising, anti-refugee populists losing favor

10.7.2016 18:48 German Chancellor Angela Merkel is enjoying her highest ratings since the beginning of the refugee crisis. A total of 59 % of Germans are assessing her work positively, the highest rating since last September.  full story

Germany: Number of refugees arriving has significantly fallen

10.7.2016 11:34 During the first six months of 2016 more than 220 000 migrants arrived in Germany. The figure was announced on 8 July by German Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière.  full story

USA: African-American sniper kills five white police officers in Dallas after two African-American civilians killed by police elsewhere

9.7.2016 22:58 An armed African-American sniper identified as Micah Xavier Johnson, 25, of Mesquite, Texas, a military veteran who served in Afghanistan, killed five police officers in Dallas, Texas and injured six more during an otherwise peaceful demonstration on 7 July against police violence being committed against African-Americans. Police also arrested three other people in connection with the attack, one of them female.  full story

Germany: Romani refugees at risk of deportation occupy cathedral in Regensburg

9.7.2016 20:48 On Tuesday, 5 July, a group of more than 40 Romani refugees from states in the Balkans occupied the cathedral in the Bavarian city of Regensburg on the Danube. The local Catholic parish has decided to leave the refugees in the building and is not requesting police to intervene.  full story

England: Roma immigrant in Sheffield will not risk traveling abroad after Brexit win

8.7.2016 12:24 Czech Radio reports that concerns about the consequences of Brexit have already permeated the alleys of the northern English town of Sheffield. Many East Europeans live there now, including many Romani people from the Czech Republic or eastern Slovakia.  full story

Council of Europe demands proof of changed practice in the Czech schools when it comes to Roma discrimination

8.7.2016 11:40 The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, which supervises the fulfillment of the judgments handed down by the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, discussed the case of "D.H. and Others versus the Czech Republic" at its June session. In its decision resulting from that meeting, the Committee of Ministers has expressed its appreciation for recently introduced reforms to the Czech school system that are based on the principle of inclusive education.  full story

England: Arsonists attack Polish family in Plymouth

8.7.2016 11:00 Unidentified perpetrators have set fire to a shed near a home occupied by a Polish family in Plymouth, a town in the southwest of England. The family also received a letter threatening to attack them directly next time.  full story

Italy: Racist murders refugee who fled Boko Haram

8.7.2016 10:30 Yesterday a member of the hardcore football fans generally referred to as "ultras" worldwide caused fatal injuries to a refugee from Nigeria in the town of Fermo in central Italy. Emmanuel Chidi Namdi, age 36, died as a result of his injuries in hospital yesterday, Agence France-Presse reports.  full story

United Nations criticizes growth of xenophobic behavior in Britain

30.6.2016 6:33 UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein is pressuring the British authorities to engage in halting the growth of xenophobic behavior in Britain that began after the results of the recent referendum there were announced. Last week British voters expressed themselves in favor of Britain leaving the EU.  full story

Analysis: Why it’s time to lay the “Gypsy” trope to rest

28.6.2016 15:01 Through examining the Romani characters in popular culture, it becomes apparent that discrimination lives on against Roma people. In the United States, this takes the form of dehumanization or even denial. Gypsies are not regarded as real people but as storybook creatures and magical inventions.  full story

UK: "No More Polish Vermin" - adherents of Brexit assault foreigners on the streets

27.6.2016 12:19 After last Thursday's referendum deciding that Britain will leave the EU, reports of racist and xenophobic incidents there are multiplying. The number of these incidents is sparking concerns among Britons that the results have encouraged extremist elements in society, the Bloomberg wire service reports.  full story