Through our work we learnt that the practices of authorities, different judicial bodies, as well as public and local government institutions towards Roma people is often discriminative. One of the main goals of our Program is to encourage Roma people to stand up for their rights and enable them to enforce their own interests. In order to achieve this, we provide assistance in forming local communities and selecting and strengthening their own leaders and activists.
Our main activities:
Legal Aid
We have set up TASZPONTs in a growing number of areas in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén and Heves Counties. These legal aid stations are led by an active member of the local Roma community, ready to work with us. Our attorneys are available online at the TASZPONTs, and they provide free legal advice via Skype. In cases involving a particularly serious infringement of rights, we occasionally provide free legal representation as well. Our goal is strategic litigation, which means undertaking cases through which we can positively affect judicial practice and possibly legislation.
Fieldwork
Our colleagues and volunteers frequently travel to Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén and Heves Counties primarily to visit the TASZPONT operators and their communities. If we are asked to get involved in a specific case, we visit other areas as well. Our activities include mediation in cases of conflict; through this we try to facilitate communication between Roma communities and local authorities.
Legal advocacy
The HCLU - just like in its other programs – takes a stand in Roma related judicial and legal issues when human rights are violated.
Communication, video making
You can follow our news and activities on the HCLU website and on our blog called “unlawfully” (www.jogtalanul.blog.hu). We also inform the press about our important cases or issues and journalists often take part in our field work mission as well. We try to make more and more of our local partners speak in our short films and video interviews and we spread their messages through our blog to a wider public.
Trainings for activists
The main goal of our “Make Your Voice Visible” project is to train Roma leaders and activists on issues regarding the right to participation and freedom of information. The TASZPONT leaders regularly take part in trainings in different fileds of law, which aim to provide them and their communities with legal knowledge and the ability to enforce their rights.