The European Union has legislative arsenal at its disposal to ensure that discriminatory violence, and discrimination more generally, are addressed. However, the European Commission, which is responsible for overseeing the application of EU laws in the member states, has to date failed to take clear and decisive action to address discrimination and violence against Roma in member states

Paraskevi Kokoni was brutally attacked when she was shopping for food with her son and nephew in Etoliko, western Greece. © Amnesty International

Forced eviction of a Roma community, Marseille, France, July 2013.© Raphaël Bianchi.

Roma communities in the Máj neighbourhood suffered a number of racist attacks.© Gustav Pursche

This withdrawal must not give a free ride to impunity for those Chadian peacekeepers allegedly responsible for human rights violations in the Central African Republic that killed dozens of civilians as recently as last weekend

The international community must not leave Afghan women to fend for themselves after 2014. It would be devastating if governments turn a blind eye to the plight of Afghan women just because there are no more international troops in the country.

These technologies enable regimes to crush dissent or criticism, chill free speech and destroy fundamental rights. The CAUSE coalition has documented cases where communication surveillance technologies have been used, not only to spy on people’s private lives, but also to assist governments to imprison and torture their critics

Today, 4 April, representatives from the European Union (EU) institutions, national governments and parliaments, international organisations, civil society, and local and regional authorities will meet at the European Roma Summit to discuss progress made on Roma inclusion in the European Union since the last Roma summit in 2010. International Roma day will be on 8 April. To mark this, Amnesty International European Institutions Office will run a week-long spotlight on Roma in Europe to push for Roma Rights Now.