European Roma Rights Centre

The European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) is a Roma-led international human-rights organisation headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. Established in Budapest in 1996, it uses law, research, public advocacy and activist training to challenge discrimination and human-rights abuses affecting Romani communities across Europe. Rather than operating as a consumer-facing commercial brand, the ERRC functions as a specialised public-interest organisation whose public identity is closely associated with strategic litigation and Roma-led rights advocacy. The organisation emerged from work responding to police brutality against Roma in Bulgaria. Roma rights activists worked with lawyers associated with the Open Society Foundations and achieved a legal victory, helping establish a model based on impact litigation: selecting cases capable of changing discriminatory laws, policies or institutional practices beyond the circumstances of an individual claimant. Ferenc Kőszeg, a Hungarian activist, is credited with a central founding role. The ERRC drew inspiration from the historic use of strategic litigation by the NAACP in the United States. Its legal programme has addressed discrimination in education, housing, health, policing and enforcement, migration, identity, environmental conditions and children’s rights. The ERRC provides or supports direct representation for Romani applicants, prepares submissions to international bodies and brings cases before national courts, the European Court of Human Rights, the European Committee of Social Rights and United Nations treaty mechanisms. Its work has included cases involving the Czech Republic, Croatia, Belgium, France, Greece, Italy, Bulgaria and other European states. Notable matters include D.H. and Others v. the Czech Republic, Oršuš and Others v. Croatia, litigation concerning the Hădăreni and Danilovgrad pogroms, and the United Kingdom case R (European Roma Rights Centre) v Immigration Officer at Prague Airport. Research and policy development form a second major pillar. The ERRC produces reports on discrimination, segregation, violence, migration, poverty, health, housing, education and the impact of public policy on Roma. Its 2004 report Roma in an Enlarged European Union reached European policymakers and was published by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Employment and Social Affairs. The organisation has also submitted evidence to United Nations committees, including bodies dealing with racial discrimination and discrimination against women. During the COVID-19 period, it documented Roma-rights concerns in twelve European Union states in its Roma rights in the time of Covid work. The ERRC also engages in international advocacy and public communication. In 2016 it became a Roma-majority organisation, reflecting a stated emphasis on Roma leadership and participation. In 2018 it launched the ERRC Roma Rights Defenders network, a volunteer structure supporting campaigning, field work and online organising. Its human-rights training has supported Roma activists, civil-society organisations, lawyers and other practitioners. The Roma Rights Summer School, an intensive residential training programme, was a longstanding part of its work until 2012 and was revived in Budapest in 2022 after a ten-year pause. The organisation has held membership in the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights and consultative status with the Council of Europe and the United Nations Economic and Social Council. It has received several human-rights awards, including the Max van der Stoel Prize in 2007, the Gruber Prize for Justice in 2009, the Stockholm Human Rights Prize in 2012 and the Raoul Wallenberg Award in 2018. Its continuing role is that of a specialist European Roma-rights institution combining courtroom advocacy, evidence-based research, institutional engagement and grassroots capacity building.

The European Roma Rights Centre was created in Budapest in 1996 in response to persistent anti-Romani discrimination and violence in Europe. Its origins are linked to a police-brutality case in Bulgaria in which Roma activists, working with lawyers connected to the Open Society Foundations, achieved a legal victory. Hungarian activist Ferenc Kőszeg is credited with a leading role in founding the organisation. From the beginning, the ERRC adopted a strategic-litigation model, seeking cases that could establish legal principles and force broader changes in official practice. The organisation’s approach was influenced by the twentieth-century civil-rights litigation strategy of the NAACP. The ERRC won its first case before the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic in 1996. During its first decade it expanded rapidly, producing more than 580 publications, bringing approximately 500 cases in European countries and training more than 1,000 Roma activists, according to the organisation’s historical account. Its early legal work included representation connected with the 1993 Hădăreni pogrom in Romania and the Danilovgrad pogrom in Montenegro. Over time, the ERRC developed a broad litigation portfolio covering segregation and discrimination in education, policing, migration controls, housing, health care, environmental conditions, identity documentation, children’s rights and law-enforcement practices. It has represented Romani applicants before the European Court of Human Rights and pursued complaints before the European Committee of Social Rights. Its lawyers have also prepared submissions for United Nations treaty bodies and supported cases in domestic courts. Among the cases associated with its work are D.H. and Others v. the Czech Republic, concerning discriminatory education arrangements, Oršuš and Others v. Croatia, and the United Kingdom litigation R (European Roma Rights Centre) v Immigration Officer at Prague Airport. Research and policy work became an equally important part of the organisation’s activities. The ERRC has published country studies, thematic reports and policy submissions based on information from lawyers, journalists, monitoring bodies, researchers and local partners. Its 2004 report Roma in an Enlarged European Union addressed policymakers during a period of European Union enlargement and was published by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Employment and Social Affairs. The organisation has used reports to raise Roma-related concerns before United Nations committees, including the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. The centre has also invested in advocacy, communications and training. Its public-interest work includes human-rights news production, international campaigning and engagement with European institutions. In 2016 it became a Roma-majority organisation. In 2018 it created the ERRC Roma Rights Defenders network, bringing volunteers into campaigning, field research and digital organising. Its training programmes have supported Roma activists, community organisations, lawyers and civil-society practitioners in areas such as migration, housing rights, legal remedies and strategic litigation. The Roma Rights Summer School was a central training institution for many years, operating until 2012. It was relaunched in Budapest in 2022 after a decade-long break and continued as an annual July programme for Roma, Sinti and Travellers from across Europe. The ERRC has received recognition through the 2007 Max van der Stoel Prize, the 2009 Gruber Prize for Justice, the 2012 Stockholm Human Rights Prize and the 2018 Raoul Wallenberg Award. It has also maintained formal links with international human-rights institutions, including membership in the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights and consultative status with the Council of Europe and the United Nations Economic and Social Council. The organisation is now based in Brussels and remains focused on combining litigation, research, advocacy and Roma-led movement building.

• 2022

  Roma Rights Summer School revived

  [1]European Roma Rights Centreen.wikipedia.org

  The ERRC revived its Roma Rights Summer School in Budapest after a ten-year hiatus.

• 2018

  Roma Rights Defenders network launched

  [1]European Roma Rights Centreen.wikipedia.org

  The ERRC established a volunteer network for campaigning, field work and online organising.

• 2018

  Raoul Wallenberg Award

  [1]European Roma Rights Centreen.wikipedia.org

  The organisation received the Raoul Wallenberg Award.

• 2016

  Becomes a Roma-majority organisation

  [1]European Roma Rights Centreen.wikipedia.org

  The ERRC became a Roma-majority organisation, reinforcing its Roma-led institutional identity.

• 2012

  Stockholm Human Rights Prize

  [1]European Roma Rights Centreen.wikipedia.org

  The organisation received the Stockholm Human Rights Prize.

• 2009

  Gruber Prize for Justice

  [1]European Roma Rights Centreen.wikipedia.org

  The ERRC received the Gruber Prize for Justice.

• 2007

  Max van der Stoel Prize

  [1]European Roma Rights Centreen.wikipedia.org

  The organisation received the Max van der Stoel Prize for its contribution to minority-rights protection.

• 2004

  Roma in an Enlarged European Union report

  [1]European Roma Rights Centreen.wikipedia.org

  The ERRC published a major report on Roma rights and European Union enlargement that reached European policymakers and was published by the European Commission’s employment and social-affairs directorate.

• 1996

  Organisation founded in Budapest

  [1]European Roma Rights Centreen.wikipedia.org

  The European Roma Rights Centre was established in Budapest, Hungary, following rights advocacy connected to police abuse of Roma in Bulgaria.

• 1996

  First constitutional-court victory

  [1]European Roma Rights Centreen.wikipedia.org

  The ERRC won its first legal victory before the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic.

A Roma-led European public-interest law and advocacy organisation that combines strategic litigation, research, policy engagement, public communication and training to advance Roma rights.

• Legal advocacy · 1996

  Strategic litigation

  The ERRC brings and supports impact-litigation cases designed to challenge discriminatory laws, institutional practices and rights violations. Its work can include direct representation of Romani claimants, support for domestic proceedings, applications to the European Court of Human Rights, complaints to the European Committee of Social Rights and submissions to United Nations treaty bodies. The subject areas include education, housing, health, migration, policing, identity, environmental conditions and children’s rights.

• Research and policy · 1996

  Research and policy reports

  The organisation produces country and thematic research on the rights and living conditions of Roma communities. Reports are developed using information from local partners, lawyers, journalists, researchers, monitoring bodies and subject specialists. The findings are used in litigation, advocacy and policy engagement with European governments, the European Union, the Council of Europe and United Nations mechanisms.

• Training · 1996

  Roma Rights Summer School

  The Roma Rights Summer School is an intensive residential educational programme for Roma, Sinti and Travellers from across Europe. It develops practical knowledge of human rights, legal remedies, advocacy and movement building. The programme operated as a longstanding ERRC training pillar until 2012 and was relaunched in Budapest in 2022 after a ten-year interruption.

• Activist network · 2018

  ERRC Roma Rights Defenders

  The Roma Rights Defenders network connects volunteers and activists with the ERRC’s campaigning, field-work and online-organising activities. It extends the organisation’s capacity beyond courtroom advocacy by supporting community-based monitoring, public mobilisation and communication on Roma-rights issues.

• 2022Roma Rights Summer School revival

  Europe

  The ERRC revived its residential training programme in Budapest after a ten-year hiatus, inviting Roma, Sinti and Travellers from around Europe.

  Outcome. The summer school returned as an annual July training initiative.

  Source
• 2018ERRC Roma Rights Defenders

  Europe

  The ERRC launched a volunteer network to support Roma-rights campaigning, field work and digital organising across Europe.

  Outcome. The network became part of the organisation’s broader movement-building and advocacy work.

  Source

• 2022

  Revival of the Roma Rights Summer SchoolOther

  Background

  The ERRC’s longstanding summer-school programme had been paused for ten years after operating as a major training component until 2012.

  Action taken

  The organisation relaunched the programme in Budapest for Roma, Sinti and Travellers from across Europe.

  Aftermath

  The summer school resumed its role in developing new generations of Romani human-rights activists.

  Source

• 2016

  Adoption of a Roma-majority organisational modelStrategy

  Background

  The ERRC’s work had long focused on Roma rights, while the organisation also sought to strengthen Roma participation and leadership.

  Action taken

  The organisation became a Roma-majority organisation.

  Aftermath

  The change reinforced the ERRC’s Roma-led identity and its emphasis on affected communities’ leadership in rights advocacy.

  Source

1. 1European Roma Rights Centreen.wikipedia.org
2. 2European Roma Rights Centre official websiteerrc.org