UN side event on discrimination as a root cause of Romani marginalization

Tomorrow, 16 June, a side event to the UN Human Rights Council session will further discuss the findings and recommendations of the recent study released by the Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues on the human rights situation of Roma. The report was officially presented on 15 June.

Representatives of the EU and several other UN member states worldwide welcomed the report during the 15 June session. The representative of Norway asked in particular whether the Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues might consider producing a joint report with the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing in future.

Panelists at tomorrow’s side event will be Rita Izsák, UN Special Rapporteur on minority issues; Ulrich Bunje, Special Representative of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe for Roma issues; Ioannis Dimitrakopoulos, Head of the Equality and Citizens’ Rights Department, European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights; Andrzej Mirga, Chair of the Board of the Roma Education Fund; Jorge Bernal, Presidente de la Asociación Identidad Cultural Romaní de Argentina (AICRA); and Mirjam Karoly, Chief of the Contact Point for Roma and Sinti Issues at the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, OSCE. The discussion will be moderated by Istvàn Lakatos, Deputy Permanent Observer of the Council of Europe to the UN Office in Geneva.

The full report of the Special Rapporteur is available here. The Human Rights Council session will continue through 3 July.