The European Roma Rights Center, an international public interest law
organisation working to combat anti-Romani racism and human rights abuse of Roma
held on the 1st of July an informal consultation in Budapest on trafficking in
human beings from a Roma perspective.
Different organisations such as the Roma Education Fund, the European Women’s
Lobby, the International Romani Union and Terre des hommes – Child Relief were
invited to discuss the role of Roma organisations and Roma communities in the
fight against trafficking in human beings.
The consultation aim was to determine what are the social determinants behind
the trafficking of human beings of Roma origin and to deepen the discussion over
the factors potentially leading to an increased vulnerability of Roma
communities to trafficking.
The inclusion and relevance of child begging and early and/or arranged
marriage into the scope of trafficking in human beings were debated, while
assessing positive and negative consequences of such an inclusion for Roma
communities.
The last part of the consultation consisted in identifying the role of Roma
organizations in the process of prevention of trafficking in human beings and
what are the next steps to be taken by Roma organizations in order to fight a
phenomenon that significantly affects Roma communities.
