human rights

Czech Govt Human Rights Commissioner says she will criticize politicians who are racist and resign rather than be censored

20.7.2018 14:39 Speaking in an interview for ROMEA TV, the newly-appointed Czech Government Commissioner for Human Rights, Martina Štěpánková, who answers directly to Czech
Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, the head of the ANO movement, said that "Politicians create the climate in society to a significant degree. For that reason it is very important for many more politicians here to condemn racism and discrimination."  full story

Romani NGOs around Europe ask why the OSCE is researching alleged radicalization of their communities in Serbia

18.7.2018 15:16 Representatives of Romani organizations from around Europe have contacted the head of the OSCE's mission to Serbia to express their alarm over the 10 July 2018 announcement of a search for a “Researcher on Radicalization among the Roma Community in Serbia”. The Romani representatives say they are deeply concerned about the growing insecurity of Roma in Europe as a result of extremist antigypsyism in a number of OSCE participating States.


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Jana Balážová: Not acceptable for teachers to see Romani children as a burden

28.4.2018 7:58 Members of the human rights community shined a spotlight on the situations faced by Romani children and their parents in Central Europe at a screening of the documentary “Europe: Which Children Matter?” The film was shown at Cinema Galeries in Brussels to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.  full story

Czech Justice Minister leaving politics because most of his fellow ANO members hold different opinions about human rights

16.4.2018 15:31 Czech Justice Minister Robert Pelikán (ANO) will not be in the next Government and is ending his political career. News server Aktuálně.cz published an interview in which he made the announcement on 8 April.  full story

Italian police forcibly evict yet another Roma camp

31.3.2018 13:40

According to Italian news site La Stampa, Italian police in Beinasco demolished a Roma camp on 7 March, forcing five families to leave their homes. Almost all the camp’s inhabitants had already left the location in recent days, complying with an ordinance issued on 20 December 2017 by the municipality. One elderly woman remained in her home, only to be driven out by bulldozers.

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Margareta Matache and Cornel West on the common struggle of African Americans and Roma against white normativity

26.2.2018 7:57 Margareta Matache, a Roma rights activist and scholar who directs the Roma Program at the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights, and Cornel West, an American author and civil rights activist who is currently Professor of the Practice of Public Philosophy at Harvard, have co-authored an analysis for The Guardian newspaper in the UK on the commonalities between the struggles of African Americans and Romani people for equality. The piece notes that the history of African Americans and Romani people bear similarities with respect to the way "white policymakers" have employed similar tactics against members of both groups in order to maintain "white normativity, social power, and privilege".  full story

Illegally sterilized Romani women from Slovakia and the Czech Republic launch online petition as part of their fight for justice

24.1.2018 18:49 The Center for Civil and Human Rights, an NGO in Slovakia, has published a press release announcing an online petition that has been launched by illegally sterilized Romani women from Slovakia and the Czech Republic. The initiative is attempting to achieve justice from the government institutions in both countries that are responsible for delivering redress.  full story

Human rights agenda, including Agency for Social Inclusion and Hate Free Culture, now under Czech Justice Minister

26.12.2017 10:07 The Human Rights Section, which during the previous administration was part of the agenda of the Minister for Human Rights, Equal Opportunities and Legislation, is now being administered by the Justice Ministry in the Czech Republic, and Justice Minister Robert Pelikán has become the chair of the Council for Romani Minority Affairs. Pelikán's spokesperson told news server Romea.cz that the minister is not planning any personnel changes currently, that he appreciates the Hate Free Culture project as a successful one, and that once January comes he is planning to visit excluded localities together with the Agency for Social Inclusion.  full story

TOMORROW: "Happening" at Prague memorial to Czechoslovak politician executed on false charges by the communist regime calls for preservation of Human Rights Minister post

5.12.2017 18:25 On Wednesday, 6 December 2017 a day-long "happening" will be held to preserve the post of Human Rights Minister and to bolster the human rights agenda in the new Government. The beginning of the event, which is convened by the Czech Women's Lobby network of nonprofit organizations, will be 9:30 by the statue of Milada Horáková on Sněmovní Street in Prague's Lesser Quarter.  full story

Council of Europe calls for progress on women's sexual and reproductive rights, including redress of forced sterilization by Czech Republic

5.12.2017 6:26 “Women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights are human rights. Regrettably, however, women in Europe still have these rights denied or restricted as a result of laws, policies and practices that ultimately reflect continuing gender stereotypes and inequalities," Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Nils Muižnieks said today while releasing a new report on this topic, "Women's sexual and reproductive health rights in Europe".  full story

Analysis: Burkinis once symbolized happiness and health - why do they now mean terrorism?

26.7.2017 11:24 Burkini, burkini, burkini. It's one of the words most used in the Czech language this summer.  full story

Romania: Romani Actresses Shine a Spotlight on Feminism

20.7.2017 23:50 Giuvlipen Theatre Company is a Roma feminist theatre company based in Bucharest, Romania. The company was established in 2014 by several professional Romani actresses in Bucharest.  full story

Bernard Rorke: Bulgarian government sticks a middle finger at Europe and appoints a fascist to head integration unit

28.6.2017 16:45 The muted EU response to the appointment of Patriot Front henchman, Valeri Simeonov, to lead Bulgaria’s council on integration beggars belief. In an open letter on May 29, nearly 400 Bulgarian human rights activists and intellectuals, denounced the appointment of a "pronounced supporter of fascist and neo-Nazi ideology,"  full story

Bosnia: Melina Halilovic is First Romani Woman in Municipal Council in Visoko

23.6.2017 12:40 Melina Halilovic is President of the Association of Youth Roma Initiative “Be My Friend,” and is also the first female Roma member of the Municipal Council in Visoko. She was elected to the Municipal Council on 2 October 2016.  full story

Commentary: The value of life in Central Europe depends on skin color

17.6.2017 11:12 The feeling that anything at all can be done to Romani people with impunity has long been sustained in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and other countries of our region by the approach taken by state bodies and institutions. The recent news from Zborov is not the first time that Slovak Police officers have raided a Romani settlement and committed groundless violence there, but this time there is evidence of their behavior in the form of video footage.
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Czech Republic to chair Council of Europe, claims human rights are a priority

5.5.2017 10:48 The Czech Republic will take up the presidency of the Council of Europe on 19 May and says that it will emphasize human rights, the rule of law, support for democracy and education. Those priorities for the presidency have been approved by the Czech Government, according to a tweet by cabinet spokesperson Martin Ayrer.  full story

Czech NGOs report to UN that Government refuses to compensate women sterilized without informed consent

12.4.2017 7:01 The Czech Women's Lobby, Czech Helsinki Committee and the League of Human Rights have warned the United Nations that the Czech Government has decided not to compensate women who have been sterilized without their informed consent. The state of midwifery and obstetrics in the country remains unsatisfactory, according to the NGOs.  full story

Czech Human Rights Minister responds to US report by asserting Government is addressing Romani issues

7.3.2017 8:06 Czech Human Rights Minister Jan Chvojka (Czech Social Democratic Party - ČSSD) has emphasized that the Czech Government is doing its best to improve the position of
Romani people and also to eliminate corruption through specific legislative measures. In a statement sent to the Czech News Agency yesterday, Chvojka responded to the US State Department's annual report about the state of human rights in the world, which reproachse the Czech Republic for corruption, the social discrimination of Romani people, and the stigmatization of people infected with HIV.  full story

Czech capital one of more than 600 marches worldwide in solidarity with women demonstrating in Washington DC

21.1.2017 20:04 The Prague Solidarity Rally with the Women's March on Washington on Saturday, 21 January 2017, was one of over 600 events worldwide organized to coincide with the demonstration in the American capital. That march attracted over a half a million people and organizers say the global "sister rallies" were attended by over 3 million.

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Human Rights Watch: Success of populists in Europe and US endangers human rights

13.1.2017 11:15 The electoral success of Donald Trump in the USA and the triumphs of populists in Europe represent a serious threat to the protection of fundamental human rights. Today the international organization for human rights protection, Human Rights Watch (HRW), presented that finding in its annual report.  full story