Tag Archives: Discrimination

Austria Germany News Western Europe

Zentralrat on Austria

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Zentralrat on Austria

The Chairman of the German Central Council of Sinti and Roma, Romani Rose, pointed out that the National Socialists called on the population in 1933 not to buy from Jews and had police and SS troops march in front of Jewish businesses. He was criticising a letter by the Austrian police of the Burgenland warning the population about Sinti and Roma.

Rose appealed to Interior Minister Karner of the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) to initiate disciplinary proceedings against those responsible within the police force. He emphasized that the Council of Europe’s Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities entered into force in Austria in 1998. This obligates the state to counteract all forms of anti-Gypsyism. The Central Council stated that the Europe-wide rise of nationalist forces, which often base their political program on racism and incitement and have now become the strongest political force in Austria, is alarming.

Austria News Western Europe

Austria, the Police, and Roma

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Austria, the Police, and Roma

The Austrian Equal Treatment Commission criticized a letter issued by the Burgenland police authority in Neusiedl on Friday, in which the police warned the population about Roma and Sinti. The letter, the Commissioner argued, perpetuates historical anti-Roma stereotypes. The letter’s instruction not to accept services from members of this ethnic group could constitute an incitement to discrimination, emphasized Sandra Konstatzky, head of the Equal Treatment Commission.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia, Police, and Roma

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Slovakia, Police, and Roma

A deaf Rom was locked up in a police detention cell in Slovakia for 48 hours without water and without knowing why, says Tomáš Dunko from the organization Svet ticha, who was then called to the police department to interpret into sign language.

Tomáš Dunko is a deaf Rom who strives to help marginalized communities, especially people with hearing impairments there. He says that not only in the area of ​​criminal or administrative law, there is enormous injustice for hearing-impaired Roma, bordering on human rights violations.

Germany News Western Europe

Discrimination in Germany

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Discrimination in Germany

Marcella Herzenberger is the chairwoman of the regional association of German Sinti and Roma in Swabia. In this role, she has been working for years to raise awareness about a very specific form of racism directed against Sinti and Roma. This racism manifests itself in deeply rooted prejudices, discrimination and exclusion, extending to structural disadvantages in education, employment, housing, and everyday life.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Discrimination in Slovenia

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Discrimination in Slovenia

Representatives of Roma communities warn of the need for official recognition of Roma settlements. They say that the government accepts the unequal position of the Roma as normal. Settlements in southeastern Slovenia are without water and electricity. Children’s rights are violated. Inadequate conditions limit children’s right to education.

Moldova News Eastern Europe

Moldova and Roma

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Moldova and Roma

A roundtable discussion at Edinet (Moldova) City Hall brought together representatives of the government, relevant services, and the Roma community. Photo: SP

Why are children from the Roma community in Edinet dropping out of school en masse, while adults are unable to find work? At a roundtable discussion on Roma rights in Moldova, this was addressed directly: with figures, stories, and without the usual excuses. The discussion on Roma community integration quickly expanded beyond the formal agenda to address migration, poverty, and mistrust, which continue to undermine even existing support mechanisms.

Germany News Western Europe

Racism in Berlin

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Racism in Berlin

Sinti and Roma are increasingly subjected to discrimination. In 2025, the documentation center on anti-Gypsyism run by the Amaro Foro association recorded the highest number of incidents since documentation began: a total of 293 cases – an increase of approximately 19 percent compared to the previous year. According to the association, the actual number of cases is likely even higher.

Europe

Memory

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Memory

According to the Council of Europe, they key to prevent discrimination against Roma and travellers, is the importance of historical memory.

Unfortunately, not as simple, look at the Holocaust and Antisemitism.

Croatia News Eastern Europe

Roma in Croatia

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Roma in Croatia

In Croatia Roma officially constitute a community of around 18,000 people, although the actual number is many times higher.

Although the position of Roma has gradually improved in recent years, their social status and level of human rights protection still lag significantly behind the average of the majority population. They are often associated with specific and difficult social and economic circumstances – living in settlements without basic infrastructure, without permanent employment and, especially, without administratively regulated aspects of life, from personal documents and legalization of land and houses to working in the grey zone.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Amnesty and Slovenia

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Amnesty and Slovenia

In Slovenia, discrimination remains one of the key problems in ensuring human rights, Amnesty International Slovenia warns. The Roma population still faces it on a daily basis and at a systemic level all too often.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia and Special Schools

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Slovakia and Special Schools

A Rom frokm Slovakia was honoured by the Association for Culture, Education and Communication (ACEC) for successfully promoting the re-diagnosis of a Roma boy from a special school, thanks to which the boy was able to continue his education at a regular elementary school in Zvolen.

Well, it says effectively a young Rom was sent to a special school for mentally disadvantaged children just because of his etnicity.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Unseen

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Unseen

Miha Lobnik, Advocate of the Principle of Equality in Slovenia says about Roma that “To hide their roots, they prefer to choose Slovenian surnames”. He organised a roundtable discussion to highlight the problems in the education of Roma children.

Europe News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Roma Foundation for Europe

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Roma Foundation for Europe

The Roma Foundation for Europe, headquartered in Brussels, is part of the Soros Foundations for an Open Society and implements various programs across Europe in support of the Roma community – it supports children and young people in education and extracurricular activities, young families in self-employment and job creation, protects Roma communities from abuse for political purposes and encourages political activation, and also invests in the preservation and development of Roma culture and language. It has not been present in Slovenia so far because it seemed that there was no need for it – because Slovenia is a sufficiently developed country with a small enough Roma population to be able to solve the problems on its own. Jovanović says today that this opinion was clearly erroneous.

News Eastern Europe Poland

Romani Pupils

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Romani Pupils

An article about Romani pupils in Polish schools. It says that for a Roma child, the threshold of school is often a threshold to a completely different linguistic world. In homes, especially in groups like Polska Roma, which cultivate a stronger tradition, the first language is Romani. It is an intimate, homely language, acting as a guardian of identity. At school, students must rapidly adapt to Polish grammatical structures to master reading and writing, which represents a tremendous cognitive effort.

Well most of them are bilingual… So not sure about that statement.

News Western Europe United Kingdom

Education in the UK

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Education in the UK

A new study shows that Roma and travellers children in the Bradford area are severely disadvantaged and the lowest achievement rates.

Bad.

News Eastern Europe North Macedonia

North Macedonia

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North Macedonia

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) condemned North Macedonia for violating several provisions of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. The country had confiscated passports of Roma who were forced returned from Germany after they had lost their asylum case.

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