The State of Romani Human Rights in the Balkans

Please join the Harriman Institute and the Roma Peoples Project at Columbia University and the Harriet and Kenneth Kupferberg Holocaust Center for a conference on the state of Romani human rights in the Balkans.

The aim of this conference is to review the contemporary state of human rights and the challenges that confront Roma people in the six Western Balkan countries seeking European Union membership. Following centuries of persecution, Roma exclusion continues to exist in social, legal, and political spheres throughout Europe. Though frequently overlooked, Roma are considered the largest minority ethnic group in Europe with an estimated 12 to 15 million living on the continent, the vast majority in Central and Eastern Europe. Many Roma, including those who may have lived in a country for decades, are numbered among the stateless in Europe—living in Europe yet denied personal identity documents from birth to adulthood, effectively blocking their access to critical social services, health care, and education and participation in the political decision-making of their communities. This conference brings together top Roma scholars in the academy, advocates, and practitioners who are working to advance the human rights and dignity of Roma people throughout the Balkans.

Each panel requires individual registration:
9:00am-10:25am
Opening Remarks & Conversation about Romani Human Rights in Europe | Register here.

11:00am-12:15pm
Panel I: A Roma Educational Project in Bosnia and Herzegovina | Register here.

12:45pm-1:40pm
Panel II: What is Going on in Europe and the Balkans? & Closing Remarks | Register here.

For more information and a list of speakers, click here.