Testimony: Anti-Roma Discrimination and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights

Tracey Gurd, Senior Advocacy Officer at the Open Society Justice Initiative, raised the issue of anti-Roma discrimination in Italy and the Czech Republic before a hearing of the Civil Liberties, Justice and Freedom Committee of the European Parliament, called to discuss the EU's Charter of Fundamental Rights.

Her testimony highlighted the continuing illegal segregation of Romani children in Czech schools, and discriminatory actions taken in Italy under the country's "nomad" emergency decrees against both Roma and Sinti. She called on the committee to push both countries to remedy these issues, and asked for its support for efforts to fight anti-Roma discrimination across the EU.