On 26 September 2023, we participated in a roundtable conference addressing the ongoing discrimination against the Roma minority in Slovakia, Slovenia and Hungary. Another topic was the existing barriers in access to justice faced by Roma in each of these countries. The conference aimed to discuss how to bring about positive changes in these areas and to share experiences across the participating countries.

In particular, at the event we presented our strategic legal work to protect Roma from discrimination and discussed its importance. In addition, we also presented the results of our field monitoring and other activities that we are carrying out within the framework of the current international project on combating discrimination against the Roma minority. The event itself was part of it.

The roundtable was attended not only by people from NGOs, but also by representatives of two important state institutions from Slovakia – the Slovak National Centre for Human Rights (equality body) and the Office of the Public Defender of Rights. The invitation was also accepted by the representative of the Equality Defender in Slovenia and the representative of the Ombudsman for the Rights of National Minorities in Hungary. All of them spoke about their activities to address discrimination against Roma and in their respective countries.

In addition to our active participation, we also co-organised the event as a partner organisation.

The event was organized within the framework of the project “Promoting Roma Equality in Slovenia and Slovakia“, which we implement in cooperation with partner NGOs Minority Rights Group Europe (MRGE) and EPEKA, Slovenia.

The project is funded by the European Union.

Author of the photos: Emília Lola Eördögh for MRGE