Topic: Discrimination and Racial Justice
Living in a Shadow of Perpetual Suspicion
Rizwaan Sabir was treated as a terrorism suspect for downloading a document for his academic research in 2008. His story highlights concerns about how anti-terrorism powers are being used by UK police.
D.H. and Others v. Czech Republic
In 2007, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Roma children in the Czech Republic face systematic discrimination. But the Czech government has yet to take steps to remedy continuing school segregation.
UN Calls for Action Against Statelessness Affecting Children
The Open Society Justice Initiative welcomed the UN decision, which reaffirms essential protections for the five million children around the world who have no citizenship anywhere.
Statelessness at the UN: Reaffirming the Right to Nationality
After nearly two years of advocacy by the Open Society Justice Initiative, the UN Human Rights Council moved to address the plight of millions of stateless people—including some five million children.
European Court Strengthens Protections against Statelessness in Slovenia Ruling
The European Court of Human Rights has ordered Slovenia to compensate thousands of people who were “erased” from its list of permanent residents after Slovenia gained independence from Yugoslavia two decades ago.
Czech Roma Children Need Action Now to End School Segregation
The Public Defender of Rights of the Czech Republic says Roma children face continuing segregation in inferior schools. So why is the government doing nothing?
Law Talks: Julia Harrington Reddy on Discrimination
Julia Harrington Reddy, a lawyer at the Open Society Justice Initiative, considers the challenges and effectiveness of using strategic litigation in the battle to end discrimination.
Why Police Profiling Is Not Just a New York Problem
In cities across Western Europe, young men of color are subjected to discriminatory police stops, contributing to a profound sense of alienation—not just from the police, but from society at large.
UK Stop and Search Policing Tactics Mar Human Rights Report
Members of the UN Human Rights Council have raised concerns over ethnic, racial and religious profiling in the way British police carry out “stop and search” checks.
Failing Another Generation: A Photo Essay
The Open Society Justice Initiative commissioned photographer Stephanie Sinclair to document how the Czech government is funneling a new generation of Roma children into sub-standard schools, in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Failing Another Generation: Czech Roma Policies Back in the Spotlight
The Czech Republic is again under pressure over its failure to end the segregation of Roma children in its schools, in defiance of the European Convention on Human Rights. Diplomats involved in this week’s review at the Council of Europe in...
Failing Another Generation: The Travesty of Roma Education in the Czech Republic
A book of photographs and interviews with the Roma families who challenged Czech school segregation before the European Court of Human Rights.
France’s New Government Moves Quickly on Discriminatory Police Stops
France’s new prime minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault, says his government is planning to introduce a system of “receipts” aimed at tracking police stops that have been found to focus disproportionately on Arab and African youths.
Case Watch: Protecting Sexual Orientation Under Human Rights Mechanisms
Recent decisions from the top American and European human rights courts affirmed that sexual orientation and gender identity are protected categories under international law.
Joint Statement: Italy Should Leave its anti-Roma Emergency Decree in the Past
Five international and Italian Human Rights groups are calling on the Italian government to abandon its effort to keep the 2008 "Nomad Emergency" decree alive.
Challenging Police Profiling in France
Fifteen people have filed civil law suits against the French state for racial profiling—the first major legal action in France to address the longstanding police use of identity checks that target visible minorities.
French Police Ethnic Profiling Faces First Court Challenge
Thirteen young men have today launched a historic legal challenge to the systematic use by French police of discriminatory identity checks that disproportionately focus on people of African or Arab ethnicity.
UN Committee Rebukes Italy over Minority Discrimination
The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) has become the latest international human rights body to criticize Italy over its treatment of both ethnic minorities and migrants.
Case Watch: Fighting Negative Stereotyping as a Positive State Obligation
A ruling from the European Court of Human Rights supports freedom of expression over the right to private life, but argues that states must nevertheless do their utmost to combat negative racial-stereotyping.
Submission to the Committee of Ministers: D.H. and Others v. Czech Republic
The implementation of the European Court of Human Rights' judgment in the Roma education case, DH and others v. Czech Republic, continues to falter. This submission by the Open Society Justice Initiative to the Committee of Ministers of the...
