World

Azerbaijan: Lengthy sentences sought for human rights defenders accused of fraud

13.8.2015 3:34 The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (OPHRD) has reported that a fourth hearing has been held in the Azeri Government's case against Leyla Yunus, director of the Institute for Peace and Democracy (IPD) and her husband Arif Yunusov, who also works for the IPD. On 6 August the court was asked to sentence Yunus to 11 years in jail and Yunusov to nine years on charges of fraud  full story

Albania: Romani neighborhood demolished for road, residents likely homeless

11.8.2015 1:09 The Roma Virtual Network has published a message from Brisilda Taco, a self-identified Romani activist in Tirana, Albania, about recent home demolitions there. The activist reports that on 23 July, the Albanian Government began to demolish Romani-occupied houses in Selita.  full story

France: Human rights organizations protest forced evictions of Romani people

6.8.2015 23:35 The European Roma Rights Centre and the Ligue des droits de l'Homme (LDH), a French human rights organization, issued the finding last month that up to 4 000 forced evictions of Romani people have taken place in France during the first half of 2015. The organizations say the confiscation of the Romani people's property during these incidents is even worse for them than the displacement is.  full story

Bulgaria Must Stop Its Anti-Roma Attacks

5.8.2015 0:12 Since May, anti-Roma protests in Bulgaria have led to Roma families being attacked and beaten. Riots escalated after tensions rose between Roma and non-Roma in Garmen, in southwest Bulgaria, and Orlandovzi in Sofia. Dozens have been injured.  full story

Europe marks Roma Holocaust Memorial Day from Georgia to Ireland

4.8.2015 22:52 Both official and private commemorations and messages of solidarity were sent across Europe on the occasion of 2 August, not only in the EU-28 countries but in places as far-flung as Georgia. This past April the European Parliament passed a resolution recognizing 2 August as Roma Holocaust Memorial Day.  full story

Gallup poll shows Roma isolation from Bulgarian society has intensified over the last 20 years

2.8.2015 20:58 Radio Bulgaria reports that as the Decade of Roma Inclusion comes to a close, Roma are still permanently excluded from Bulgarian society, according to a representative Gallup International poll. Researcher Dimitar Ganev said the poll was conducted in response to inter-ethnic tensions in May and June of this year.  full story

European Roma and Travellers Forum calls for moment of silence, noon, 2 August, International Remembrance Day of the Pharrajimos

31.7.2015 1:46 The European Roma and Travellers Forum is calling for the observation of a moment of silence at noon on Sunday, 2 August, in memory of the Romani victims who were murdered on the night of 2 August and early morning hours of 3 August 1944 in “Zigeunerlager BIII” at Auschwitz – Birkenau. The Roma Holocaust, or Pharrajimos, is considered the biggest tragedy in the history of the Roma in Europe.  full story

Council of Europe's Human Rights Commissioner: Time to cure amnesia about the history of Roma in Europe

30.7.2015 20:03 Nils Muižnieks, the Human Rights Commissioner at the Council of Europe, has written in advance of the 2 August commemorations of the 1944 murder of Romani people at Auschwitz that Europe's amnesia about the history of the Roma needs to be cured. Referencing the historical events at Auschwitz in particular, he writes: "Knowledge about both the Roma uprising and the liquidation of the 'Gypsy camp' remains limited in European societies today."  full story

Finland: 15 000 people demonstrate for multiculturalism

29.7.2015 23:18 Agence France-Presse reports that approximately 15 000 people assembled yesterday in the center of the Finnish capital, Helsinki, to express their support for a multicultural society and protest against remarks made by MPs for the governing eurosceptic, populist Party of the Finns. Organizers convened the demonstration to protest remarks made by MP Olli Immonen, who called for "combating the nightmare of multiculturalism" over the weekend on Facebook.  full story

Czech NGO: We either rescue refugees from hell or they will die

29.7.2015 21:01 The Generace 21 (Generation 21) Foundation wants to bring 152 Christian refugees from Iraq to the Czech Republic who have been persecuted by radicals from the self-declared Islamic State organization. Representatives of the foundation gave a list of the refugees' names to the Office of the Government last Thursday and are now waiting for the Government and Interior Ministry to agree to receive them.  full story

Hungary: Ultra-right experiment in Ozd uses systematic oppression to drive Roma out

29.7.2015 3:49 The Associated Press reports that the Hungarian town of Ozd has become a kind of living "laboratory" where the ultra-right Jobbik party is testing the impact of its political decisions at local level. That at least is the warning of Peter Kreko, director of the Political Capital Institute organization, which has long monitored Jobbik's activities.  full story

RomArchive showcases the cultural contributions of Romani people

27.7.2015 23:19 On 26 June, the Advisory Group for RomArchive, the Digital Archive of the Roma, was established. The Archive has now launched operations, according to a press release issued by the Advisory Group.  full story

European Roma and Travellers Forum launches website for Roma Holocaust commemorations

27.7.2015 20:39 To mark the 71st anniversary of the Holocaust of the Roma (Pharrajimos) during WWII, the European Roma and Travellers Forum (ERTF) has launched a website, www.2august.ertf.org. The NGO is calling for collaboration on establishing a "centralized information point" about this history.  full story

Andrzej Mirga, Roma Education Fund's new chair, on the European Roma Institute and more

25.7.2015 19:40 Andrzej Mirga, previously Senior Adviser on Roma and Sinti Issues at the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the OSCE, has recently been appointed chair of the Roma Education Fund. Mr Mirga has a long record as a civic and human rights activist, having co-founded Poland's first Romani association after the fall of communism.  full story

Macedonia: BUVERO Camp for young Romani women underway

25.7.2015 0:21 The National Roma Centrum of Macedonia is running a BUVERO camp at Etno Selo in Kumanovo. Together with mentors from Hungary's Romedia Foundation, they have been instructing Romani women aged 18-25 in "citizen journalism".  full story

Austria bans hidden Islamist and Nazi codes on license plates

24.7.2015 20:15 The daily Kleine Zeitung reports that yesterday an amendment came into effect in Austria banning the use of hidden Nazi codes on personalized license plates. The original list of banned abbreviations such as HJ (for the youth organization Hitlerjugend), NSDAP (for the Nazi party) and SS (for the elite Nazi fighting unit) was expanded to include, for example, the number 420, referencing 20 April, Hitler's birthday.  full story

Bulgaria: Nationalists exert political pressure to override suspension of Romani home demolitions

22.7.2015 21:59 The BBC reports that nationalist parties in Bulgaria are pressuring for the continuation of the demolition of two Romani settlements which has temporarily been suspended by the European Court of Human Rights. Non-Romani residents of the town at issue, Garmen, also marched in the capital over the weekend to demand the demolitions go forward.  full story

Ireland: Roma immigrant challenges state's refusal to award her welfare

22.7.2015 0:35 The Irish Times reports that a Roma citizen of Romania with two young children is suing Ireland's Department of Social Protection for refusing to award her various welfare benefits, claiming the refusal is a violation of EU law. Her counsel, Derek Shorthall, told the High Court that the case raises "very weighty legal issues".  full story

Germany: Hundreds of Roma protest their deportation

21.7.2015 22:46 According to a press release from the alle-bleiben.info organization, on Saturday, 18 July, 600 people assembled in Hamburg, Germany to protest the deportation of Roma refugees back to their home countries. Demonstrators demanded an end to the deportations of all Roma, the right to remain in Germany, interpreters who speak Romanes to be provided during official interactions, unrestricted work permits for detainees, earlier opportunities to move out of detention centers, and that officials pay attention to refugees' medical reports.  full story

EU interior ministers offer 8 000 fewer places than needed for refugee redistribution

20.7.2015 23:32 EU-28 interior ministers did not manage to fully agree today on the redistribution of 40 000 asylum seekers currently located in Greece and Italy. Czech Interior Minister Milan Chovanec said the EU-28 states have offered to redistribute only 32 000 people during the next two years.  full story