The work of the Roma and Travellers¹ Division contributes to promoting and protecting the rights of Roma and Travellers in Council of Europe member states and to fostering equal opportunities, diversity and social inclusion by fighting discrimination and antigypsyism.

The Division supports member states’ governments in the design and implementation of laws, policies, programmes and measures so as to ensure that Council of Europe human rights standards are effectively implemented and truly benefit Roma and Travellers. Activities are based on strategic orientations agreed by the Committee of Ministers and set out in the Council of Europe Strategy for Roma and Traveller inclusion (2026-2030) which focuses on the following priorities:

• Increasing and promoting knowledge and awareness about Roma and Traveller communities to combat antigypsyism and prejudice while fostering a sense of pride in Roma and Traveller identities;
• Ensuring equal rights, dignity, and gender equality for Roma and Travellers by effectively implementing legislation and policies across all areas of life;
• Promoting democratic governance and increasing active participation of Roma and Travellers in public and political life.

The strategy follows the recommendations drawn from the final evaluation of the 2020–25 Strategic Action Plan for Roma and Traveller inclusion, which was also taken note of by the Committee of Ministers (CM). It also builds on several key standards, such as the CM Recommendation on the inclusion of Roma and Traveller history in school curricula and teaching material, CM Recommendation on Roma youth participation, and CM Recommendation on equality of Roma and Traveller women and girls.

Roma and Travellers suffering from discrimination on multiple grounds (intersectionality) are covered by the plan through a cross-cutting approach.

The implementation of the Strategy is overseen by the intergovernmental Committee of Experts on Roma and Traveller Issues (ADI-ROM).

Representatives of Roma and Traveller civil society are involved through regular Dialogue meetings with the Council of Europe.

The Division thus provides support to standard-setting, monitoring, and co-operation activities at various levels, including peer reviews and thematic exchanges of expertise at the ADI-ROM, and joint programmes with the European Union and other donors.

To that end, the Division takes into account the case law of the European Court of Human Rights and the findings of monitoring bodies such as the European Committee for Social Rights (ECSR), the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), the Advisory Committee for the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (FCNM) or the Committee of Experts for the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (ECRML).

[1]The term “Roma and Travellers” is used at the Council of Europe to encompass the wide diversity of the groups covered by the work of the Council of Europe in this field: on the one hand a) Roma, Sinti/Manush, Calé, Kaale, Romanichals, Boyash/Rudari; b) Balkan Egyptians (Egyptians and Ashkali); c) Eastern groups (Dom, Lom and Abdal); and, on the other hand, groups such as Travellers, Yenish, and the populations designated under the administrative term “Gens du voyage”, as well as persons who identify themselves as Gypsies. The present is an explanatory footnote, not a definition of Roma and/or Travellers.