In presenting the €10,000 prize to ERRC Director Ðorđe Jovanović, Secretary General Jagland said: "While it is a matter of regret that individuals and communities in our continent are still subject to abuse and mistreatment, it is right that prizes like this highlight problems that might otherwise be overlooked – and recognise those who have gone to extraordinary efforts to counter them.
"I am happy to say that the 2018 award goes to an organisation that is breaking down barriers for Europe’s largest minority, the Roma people; an organisation whose energy, tenacity and belief in the rule of law are ensuring the delivery of Roma rights; an organisation whose courage and determination are inspiring young Roma people and showing them a future full of possibility."
A relentless defender of Roma rights
The Budapest-based European Roma Rights Centre is recognised for successfully challenging discrimination, anti-Romani racism and rights abuses of Roma through innovative litigation, evidence-based research and policy development.
As a Roma-led public interest law organisation with the staff being majority Roma, the ERRC has proven both relentless and effective in combatting anti-Romani racism and human rights abuses in many countries, he added.
Since its establishment in 1996, the ERRC has brought many cases to court, including to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), and collective complaints to the European Committee of Social Rights. They have exposed police misconduct, the misplacement of Romani children in special schools and deficiencies in the housing of Romani families, among other issues. Over the past year, the ERRC has initiated more litigation than ever with a record number of new cases and third-party interventions before the ECtHR.
These cases have transformed the way that judges, officials, and people across Europe understand anti-discrimination laws, an important point that Secretary Jagland stressed: "This is about challenging stereotypes and frustrating authorities’ attempts to push Romani citizens to the margins of their societies."
The Raoul Wallenberg Prize
Raoul Wallenberg was a Swedish diplomat based in Budapest during World War II. As a representative of a neutral country, he used his status to save tens of thousands of Jews from the Holocaust. He was arrested in Hungary on 17 January 1945.
The Raoul Wallenberg Prize, instituted in 2012 by the Council of Europe on the initiative of the Swedish government and the Hungarian Parliament, is meant to keep his memory and outstanding achievements alive.
The laureate is selected by a jury of six independent persons with recognised moral standing in the field of human rights and humanitarian work, and appointed by: the secretary general of the Council of Europe, the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the municipality of Budapest, the Raoul Wallenberg Institute in Lund, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the Wallenberg family.
This is the third time the Raoul Wallenberg Prize has been awarded. Elmas Arus, a young Roma film director from Turkey, received the prize in 2014, and the second laureate in 2016 was the Greek association Agkalia, from the island of Lesvos, that provided frontline assistance to thousands of refugees arriving to Europe.
