12 November 2022

Ms. Tanya Kaltzeva, part-time lawyer at NGO Organization Drom took part in a meeting, set up by the European Roma Rights Center in Athens (Greece) for the Roma Rights Network. Organization Drom is one of the founders of the Network, which includes 18 organisations from Europe. The meeting was conducted between 8-10 october and it involved topics, like the current state of human rights and Roma rights, the impact of the war in Ukraine, Roma in the criminal justice, Romani children in state care institutions, etc. Among the lecturers, there were Ethel Brooks, who is the Chair of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Associate Professor of Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies and Sociology at Rutgers University; Míriam Juan-Torres, who is a multidisciplinary social scientist with expertise on polarization, authoritarian populism, conflicts, and human rights; Javier Sáez del Álamo, who is a sociologist, expert in human rights and antidiscrimination policies, among others.

ERRC provided background reports, which we found extremely useful:

1. Fair Trials Research Report: “Justice Denied: Roma in the Criminal Justice System”, December 2021, available at: http://www.errc.org/uploads/upload_en/file/5357_file1_justice-denied-roma-in-the-criminal-justice-system.pdf

1. ERRC Research Report: “Blighted Lives: Romani Children in State Care”, January, 2021, available at: http://www.errc.org/uploads/upload_en/file/5284_file1_blighted-lives-romani-children-in-state-care.pdf

1. The ERRC created an online resource centre for activists and legal practitioners to use to fight against discrimination in placing Romani children in State Care. More information is available at: https://www.romainstatecare.com/

photo: wikipedia