Antigypsyism / Discrimination - Roma and Travellers

The results of the monitoring activities of the Council of Europe, in particular those of the Commissioner for Human Rights and the European Committee against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), and evidence from other sources, show that Roma and Travellers in Europe still suffer from widespread and persisting antigypsyism – recognised as a specific form of racism fuelled by prejudice and stereotypes - and they are still the victims of various forms of discrimination, including school segregation and forced sedentarisation, hate speech and, sometimes, hate crimes in many Council of Europe member states.

These processes perpetuate the marginalisation of Roma and Traveller communities and pose serious obstacles for any policy initiatives to improve their situation. Anti-Roma prejudice, discrimination and crimes must be tackled by a combination of legal responses, training of public authorities, legal professionals and law enforcement bodies based on relevant ECtHR case-law and CoE standards, capacity-building of civil society, as well as educational and awareness-raising initiatives.