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20-916: The ERRC is a member of the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights and has consultative status with the Council of Europe , as well as with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. The organisation was created in 1996 in Budapest, Hungary and is now based in Brussels, Belgium. The European Roma Rights Centre grew out of a response to a police brutality case in Bulgaria, where Roma rights activists worked with Open Society Foundations lawyers to win

40-553: A legal victory. A key individual in their early work was Hungarian activist Ferenc Kőszeg, who has subsequently been credited with founding the organisation. The ERRC drew inspiration for their work from the impact of the strategic litigation used by the NAACP during the 20th century to advance the cause of civil rights in the US. Following its foundation, the ERRC won its first legal victory in

60-453: A particular topic such as migration, housing rights or legal rights. Training has been delivered in a large variety of different cities in Europe. The centrepiece of the ERRC's human rights training work is the annual Roma Rights Summer School, which seeks to train new generations of Romani human rights activists over a 10-day residential course in various European cities. The Summer School was

80-600: A pillar of the ERRC's work since its founding until 2012. After a ten-year-hiatus, the Summer School was revived in 2022 in Budapest and continues to accept applications from Roma, Sinti, and Travellers from around Europe every July. International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights The International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights ( IHF ) was a self-governing group of non-governmental organizations that acted to protect human rights throughout Europe, North America and Central Asia. A specific primary goal

100-424: A wide range of methods including work with a broad network of lawyers, journalists, research partners, monitoring bodies and relevant subject specialists. In some instances, the ERRC plays a supporting role for research happening at a local level or creates research reports that review relevant secondary literature. The 2004 "Roma in an Enlarged European Union " report has reached a broad audience of policymakers and

120-453: Is active in impact litigation (also called strategic litigation). Since its inception, the ERRC has taken over 1000 cases relating to Roma Rights, and usually has over 150 cases pending in national and international courts at any given time. The ERRC's legal work takes different forms including the provision of direct legal representation and support to Romani litigants. The ERRC also creates legal submissions for international tribunals, such as

140-637: The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) about Roma communities. During the recent Coronavirus pandemic, the group published "Roma rights in the time of Covid", an in-depth analysis of discrimination and rights abuses across twelve EU states during 2020. In 2016 the ERRC became a Roma-majority organisation, and in 2018 launched the ERRC Roma Rights Defenders, a large volunteer network who contribute to

160-641: The European court of human rights and for UN treaty bodies. The organisation seeks to influence at both a national and European level, and litigates across a broad range of issues including education, environment, migration, enforcement, identity, health, and issues affecting children. The ERRC has won cases against Belgium, France, Greece, Italy, and Bulgaria (among others) before the European Committee of Social Rights; besides this, ERRC lawyers have represented Romani applicants in numerous cases before

180-576: The Czech constitutional court in 1996. Over the next ten years the organisation created over 580 publications, lodged 500 cases in a variety of European countries and trained over one thousand Roma activists. During this period, the ERRC was involved in some significant cases including representing Roma people affected by the 1993 Hădăreni pogrom and the Danilovgrad pogrom in Montenegro. The ERRC

200-400: The ERRC and its various projects. This includes a broad range of activities including campaigning, field work and online organising. The ERRC is the recipient of numerous human rights awards including the 2007 Max van Der Stoel Prize, the 2009 Gruber Prize for Justice , the 2012 Stockholm Human Rights Prize, and the 2018 Raoul Wallenberg Award . An important part of the ERRC's work involves

220-706: The European Court of Human Rights, including D.H. and Others v. the Czech Republic and Oršuš and Others v. Croatia . The ERRC has also launched strategic litigation in the United Kingdom with a notable case being the 2004 R (European Roma Rights Centre) v Immigration Officer at Prague Airport contested in the House of Lords. The ERRC publishes research on a broad range of issues affecting Romani communities. The organisation creates its reports using

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240-557: The international political level. At the time IHF was dissolved, it had forty-six member committees. The IHF also had direct links with individuals and groups supporting human rights in countries where no Helsinki committees exist. In addition to gathering and analyzing information on human rights conditions in OSCE countries, the IHF acted as a clearing house for this information, disseminating it to governments, inter-governmental organizations,

260-508: The organization's ATM card for personal purposes which went unnoticed for six years. After its closure, IHF's complete archives were transferred to the Blinken Open Society Archives which acts as the organisation's official repository. This human rights -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Gruber Prize for Justice The Gruber Prize for Justice , established in 2001,

280-586: The press and the public at large. Karl zu Schwarzenberg served as chairman of the federation from 1984 to 1991. The International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights was awarded the European Human Rights Prize in 1989, jointly with Lech Wałęsa . In January 2008, an Austrian court convicted the IHF's former financial manager, the Austrian Rainer Tannenberger, of the embezzlement of €1.2 million. Tannenberger

300-416: The provision of training and educational projects for Romani activists. Past training has focused on developing the capabilities of NGO's who work with Roma communities, activists who are part of Romani rights groups and others working in the field of civil society, human rights and strategic litigation. Other forms of training have also been delivered by the ERRC, including single-issue sessions that focus on

320-601: The various independent Helsinki committees could use to support each other, as well as provide an international body to strengthen their work. The original members were the independent Helsinki committees of Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United States; an international secretariat was established in Vienna. The secretariat supported and provided liaison member Helsinki committees and associated human rights groups, and represented them at

340-407: Was one of five international prizes worth US$ 500,000 awarded by The Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation , an American non-profit organization . Recipients were selected by a distinguished panel of international legal experts from nominations received from around the world. The Gruber Foundation Justice Prize was presented to individuals or organizations for contributions that have advanced

360-732: Was published by the Directorate General of Employment and Social Affairs of the European Commission . The ERRC has influenced the European Union enlargement by pressuring candidate countries to comply with the Copenhagen criteria and ensuring that the Roma situation is a priority issue. The organisation often reports to UN Committees such as the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) or

380-568: Was sentenced to three years in prison, with two of them suspended. The IHF's resulting insolvency had driven it to file for bankruptcy in Austria, its country of registration, and to be dissolved on 27 November 2007. An IHR accountant was sentenced to three years for embezzling $ 1.8 million from the Helsinki Federation for Human Rights to support his mistress. He channeled money from human rights projects to his bank account, and used

400-475: Was to monitor compliance with the human rights provisions of the Helsinki Final Act and its follow-up documents. It was founded in 1982, inspired in part by an appeal from Dr. Andrei Sakharov for the creation of a "unified international committee to defend all Helsinki Watch Group members", and also to co-ordinate their work. The IHF was founded in response, both to provide an organization which

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