Roma children

Roma children are members of one of the most deprived communities and they face discrimination and human rights violations on a daily basis.

The Council of Europe promotes the rights of Roma children by undertaking activities to facilitate the access of Roma children to inclusive education, by including Romani history teaching in national school curricula and by addressing the negative consequences of early or child marriage. Negative stereotypes of Roma people persist and Roma children are particularly vulnerable to their harmful impact. In order to combat these stereotypes the Council of Europe developed a child-friendly version of the Dosta! campaign "4Children-by-Children". This initiatve has produced child-friendly materials developed through a child consultation process, involving 70 children between the ages of 12 and 15 from Albania, Hungary and Spain, who took part in specially designed ‘think tank’ activities.

The support team to the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Roma Issues promotes and supports the implementation of human rights for Roma. In order to tackle the problems facing Roma in a more efficient and targeted manner the Council of Europe has established the Ad Hoc Committee of Experts on Roma Issues (CAHROM). CAHROM evaluates the implementation of national policies to increase the protection of Roma and facilitate an exchange of good practices.

The Council of Europe has also created a Roma Youth Action Plan to empower young Roma people and support their full participation in public decision-making processes and structures.

The term "Roma" used at the Council of Europe refers to Roma, Sinti, Kale and related groups in Europe, including Travellers and the Eastern groups (Dom and Lom), and covers the wide diversity of the groups concerned, including persons who identify themselves as "Gypsies"