Topic: Discrimination and Racial Justice
Something Rotten in Denmark
It's rare that statelessness finds its way into the headlines. But with one minister resigning and another now under attack, a fight over citizenship policy is roiling the political scene in Denmark.
Case Watch: Roma Sterilization Case Reaches European Court
V. C. was just twenty years old when she was sterilized after giving birth in a Slovakian hospital. She claims her Roma ethnicity played a vital role in her sterilization. Next week, the European Court of Human Rights will hear the case.
Pressure Grows on Spain Over Racial Profiling
The UN has put the Spanish government on notice: Police who engage in ethnic profiling are violating the human right to nondiscrimination.
Denied a Shot at a Good Education
Europe's top human-rights watchdog issued an urgent rebuke to the Czech Republic last week: Stop the continued racial segregation of Roma children in schools, which damns them to "a future as second-class citizens."
Bagdonavicius v. Russia
This is a case brought by the Open Society Justice Initiative challenging the destruction of Roma families' homes in Russia.
Genocide in All But Name, for the “Crime” of Being Gay
Seven countries still apply the death penalty against homosexuals. Another 75 criminalize same-sex relations. It’s time to do something about these state-sanctioned acts of hate and destruction.
Report on Developments 2011
This report's eight narratives show how the Open Society Justice Initiative seeks to promote and protect human rights—and what happens when those rights are not protected.
Statement on Pretrial Detention and Discrimination
Advocates including the Open Society Foundations speak out on the estimated three million people around the world behind bars awaiting trial—many of whom are from the poorest and most marginalized sectors of society.
Human Rights: How Far Have We Come?
On the 60th anniversary of World Human Rights Day, the date when the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the UN, how far have we come in realizing that document's promise?
Czech Government Flouts Court Ruling on Roma Education
The Czech Republic has failed to comply with European law and integrate Romani children into mainstream schools, said the Open Society Justice Initiative in a complaint filed this week.
Ouardiri v. Switzerland
This case is about a Swiss ban on the construction of minarets that clearly discriminates against Muslims.
Ruling Against Ethnic Profiling in Spain Must Be Implemented
The Open Society Justice Initiative and Women's Link Worldwide are pressing the Spanish human rights ombudsman to follow up on the government's failure to comply with the UN Human Rights Committee’s landmark ruling in the case of Williams v. Spain.
Dominicans of Haitian Descent and the Compromised Right to Nationality
The Open Society Justice Initiative presented this report to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, highlighting systematic discrimination in the Dominican Republic.
Omerovic and Others v. Italy
In 2008 Italy introduced emergency legislation that applied only to Roma. The Omerovic family brought a legal action with nine other claimants to challenge this discriminatory treatment.
Hearing on Roma Discrimination in Italy Marks Progress, but Crisis Unresolved
A hearing on the case of Omerovic and Others v. Italy, filed in cooperation with the Open Society Justice Initiative, marks the first time testimony has been presented in court to challenge Italy’s Nomad Emergency Decree for unfairly targeting...
Europe’s Union Riven by Government Attacks on Minorities
Roma in Italy, burqas in France, minarets in Switzerland: the idea of European citizenship recedes with each affront to equality and solidarity.
Groups Call on Czech Minister to Desegregate Schools
The Czech government should take immediate action to implement the European Court of Human Rights judgment in the case of D.H. and Others, urged a letter sent to the newly appointed Minister of Education by the Open Society Justice Initiative and...
Ethnic Profiling in Spain Persists, Despite Landmark Ruling
Despite proof that police are singling out people who "look like" immigrants for identity checks in Spain, government officials continue to deny that such practices even exist.
Groundbreaking Decision on Statelessness in Europe
The European Court of Human Rights acknowledged the need to avoid making people stateless in its decision on Kuric and Others v. Slovenia.
Bueno v. Dominican Republic
This case is about statelessness in the Dominican Republic. It focuses on a Dominican man who was denied identity documents because he was of Haitian descent.