On the occasion of International Romani Day, we want to share some conclusions from our latest report on discrimination against Roma people in the Spanish criminal justice system.

Emergency measures put in place to combat the Coronavirus

On 6th March 2020, 256 organisations sent an open letter to the Greek Prime Minister and European Union leaders asking them to "protect legality and humanity".

The COVID-19 pandemic is a global public health emergency that requires a coordinated and large-scale response by governments worldwide.

The Spanish government has declared state of alarm, which naturally comes with some restrictions on our normal freedoms. We cannot allow this to take away our fundamental rights including the right to a defence and the right to a fair trial.

Many of us are OK with letting the government pause our freedoms temporarily, so long as this helps to stop the spread of coronavirus. But human rights also give us the tools to get our liberties back as soon as restrictions are no longer needed.

Freedom of expression has evidently been deteriorating for several years in Hungary. The country was ranked 56 out of 180 in the 2013 World Press Freedom Index, while in 2019 it ranked at 87.

Coronavirus is having a massive impact on the health and detainees in Spain. Dozens of organizations have expressed their concern in a document they presented to the authorities.

After years of treating asylum and migration in crisis mode, we believe the proposed Pact on Asylum and Migration is an opportunity for the EU and its member states to change direction.

A free press, working through associations, healthcare and social security are just four tools that human rights give us to get through the coronavirus pandemic.