World

Human rights protection is under strain in Europe, says Commissioner Muižnieks in his first annual report

Strasbourg, 1.5.2013 12:56, (ROMEA) “The picture of the human rights situation which I have observed during country visits, meetings with authorities and discussions with NGO representatives in 2012 is worrying” said today Nils Muižnieks, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, while presenting his first annual report. “Of particular concern are the persisting patterns of discrimination, racism and homophobia; the treatment of migrants; constraints to freedom of expression; as well as the inefficiency of national judicial systems.”  full story

USA tells Slovakia to clean up its courts, prevent attacks against Romani people

Bratislava, Slovakia, 30.4.2013 0:34, (ROMEA) News server Aktuality.sk reports that the US State Department’s human rights report for 2012 has described the Slovak Republic as a country where judges abuse their power, the judicial system is imbalanced, and discrimination and violent attacks against Romani people are ongoing. According to the report, discrimination against ethnic minorities, the Roma in particular, is common.  full story

Slovak apartheid ends at one school

Prague, 29.4.2013 20:27, (ROMEA) The Slovak daily Sme reports that until recently, a school in the town of Šarišské Michaľany was educating dark-skinned children on its first floor and white-skinned children on the ground floor. The playground was divided into separate sections as well, while the cafeteria offered cooked food for the whites and “dry food” for the others.  full story

videoPro boxer Tyson Fury is proud of his origins

New York City, USA, 29.4.2013 5:26, (ROMEA) Last weekend Tyson Fury achieved an enormous triumph when he became the first professional boxer ever to knock out American boxer Steve Cunningham. "I am proud of what I am, and that's a Traveller,” the heavyweight Fury told The Independent. Last weekend in the USA was his 21st victory in a professional ring.  full story

OECD warns Czech Republic of rise in number of socially excluded schools

Prague, 25.4.2013 18:50, (ROMEA) News server iDNES.cz reports that the Czech education system is more selective than has previously been suspected. Non-Romani parents are not enrolling their offspring into schools with high numbers of Romani children and are choosing to send them to schools for the wealthy. The OECD is warning the Czech Republic of a rise in the number of “socially excluded” schools.  full story

German President Joachim Gauck: Never economise on human rights

Strasbourg, 24.4.2013 13:00, (ROMEA) The Council of Europe is "needed more than ever before", the German President said, in his address to the Parliamentary Assembly. In spite of pressure to make savings in a time of austerity across Europe, "we should never seek to economise on human rights.”  full story

Czech EdMin awarded booby prize for data leak about Romani students

Prague, 18.4.2013 13:21, (ROMEA) On Wednesday 17 April 2013 the Czech Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport received a Data Leak Award for the online leak of almost 900 Romani students’ personal information. The award ceremony was held at the Karlín Theater in Prague. An expert jury selected the winners on the basis of criteria evaluating the extent of damage caused by the leak, the nature of the information leaked, and the way it was leaked.  full story

Roma Education Fund announces scholarships for Romani college students

Prague, 16.4.2013 14:23, (ROMEA) Are you a college student, or a high school senior planning to continue your studies? Are you Romani? Are you interested in a scholarship for the 2013/2014 academic year?  full story

USA: We cannot ignore the discrimination of Romani people

USA, 13.4.2013 21:34, (www.state.gov ) On the occasion of International Romani Day, 8 April 2013, US Secretary of State John Kerry sent greetings from President Obama and the people of the United States of America to Romani people everywhere. International Romani Day celebrates the diversity of Romani culture.  full story

Elena Gorolová: Illegal sterilization

Ostrava, 11.4.2013 23:26, (ROMEA) Who will be chosen as the greatest hero fighting injustice, unfair treatment and wrongs in the Czech Republic? Cast your vote in the survey “Anyone Can Be a Hero” (Hrdinou může být každý) at hrdinou.cz.  full story

Slovakia: Romani man from Czech Republic and others beaten by 20 skinheads

Banská Štiavnica, Slovakia, 11.4.2013 16:18, (ROMEA) The Slovak media are reporting that allegedly as many as 20 skinhead attackers brutally beat up a Romani man from the Czech Republic at a party in the Central Slovakian town of Banská Štiavnica. The man lost consciousness as a result of the brawl. Two Georgians and the man’s girlfriend, who is a local resident, were also targeted for attack. It is not yet clear whether the conflict was racially motivated.  full story

British concerns over influx of Bulgarians and Romanians said to be exaggerated

Brussels, Belgium, 10.4.2013 23:23, (ROMEA) The British Government has commissioned an independent study of immigration to Great Britain from Bulgaria and Romania and published the results on 5 April. The number of immigrants from Bulgaria and Romania should not significantly grow until the start of next year, when the last legal barriers to freedom of movement for those citizens are set to expire.  full story

Statement by Irish Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence on the occasion of International Roma Day

Brussels, 10.4.2013 10:42, (ROMEA) On International Roma Day, 8 April 2013, the Irish Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence, Alan Shatter TD, Chair of the Justice and Home Affairs Council, emphasised the importance of implementing the National Roma Integration Strategies, which were published in 2012.  full story

Brussels: AI stages eviction of Romani settlement on International Romani Day

Brussels, Belgium, 9.4.2013 16:55, (ROMEA) A “happening” portraying the forced eviction of a Romani settlement was staged yesterday in Brussels by the human rights organization Amnesty International (AI) in order to draw attention to the situation of Romani people in Europe. Yesterday the European Commission also emphasized that improving the situation of Romani people is one of the greatest challenges Europe faces.  full story

Czech Republic: Equal Opportunities Party calls for return to "romipen" on 8 April

Prague, 8.4.2013 22:33, (ROMEA) The Equal Opportunities Party (Strana rovných příležitostí - SRP) of the Czech Republic is calling on Romani people to come together to formulate their demands and see them through. News server Romea.cz publishes the party’s declaration in full below:  full story

International Roma Day: Commission calls for decisive action to further Roma integration

Brussels, 8.4.2013 15:45, (ROMEA) To mark International Roma Day, the European Commission has underlined the need for further efforts by the Member States to improve the situation for Roma communities in Europe. Despite efforts in the Member States towards Roma integration, much more progress has yet to be made at national level to fight discrimination and improve access for Roma to employment, education, housing and healthcare in particular.  full story

Amnesty International calls for an end to discrimination against Romani people in Europe

London/Prague, 6.4.2013 21:14, (ROMEA) On the occasion of International Romani Day on 8 April, Amnesty International (AI) is warning the European Union that it is not doing enough to end discrimination against Romani people in the Member States. The world’s largest human rights organization has launched a Europe-wide campaign called “Human Rights Here, Roma Rights Now”.  full story

Events scheduled for International Romani Day - 8 April 2013

Czech Republic, 1.4.2013 16:38, (ROMEA) On Monday, 8 April 2013 Romani people worldwide will celebrate International Romani Day. They will commemorate the historic first World Congress of the International Romani Union, which took place near London in 1971, primarily thanks to the initiative of Grattan Puxon and Donald Kenrick of Great Britain, Matéo Maximoff representing French Romani people (the Manouche), Jarko Jovanović of the former Yugoslavia, and other Romani individuals and Romani studies scholars.  full story

Czech Republic: Vietnamese mafia could spoil bid for national minority status

Prague, 30.3.2013 21:32, (ROMEA) Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg, who chairs the Czech Government Council on National Minorities, is planning to submit a proposal to the Government to grant ethnic Belarussians and Vietnamese national minority status. There are 12 officially recognized national minorities in the Czech Republic.  full story

Serbia: Dead Romani youth found in Bečej, racial motivation not yet ruled out

Belgrade/Budapest, 28.3.2013 16:10, (ROMEA) In the early morning hours of Sunday, 17 March 2013, a dead 17-year-old Romani boy was found in the Serbian town of Bečej. The circumstances of his death are unclear and it is possible he was the victim of a racially motivated attack.  full story