Realizing Roma Rights

"Realizing Roma Rights is a most welcome contribution to the meager world of human rights-based studies of the Roma population . . . The book is well edited and presents a comprehensive picture and analysis of current issues surrounding the Roma, in particular in Eastern and Central Europe. The editors have a deep understanding not only of the human rights dimensions of the condition of the Roma situation, but also of the political, cultural, and historical questions that are important to include in order to fully comprehend the magnitude of the challenges faced and to provide a contribution for purposes of future scenarios for the Roma."—Human Rights Quarterly

"Realizing Roma Rights is an absorbing study . . . [and] a thoughtful and stimulating read. What we learn is that centuries of state-sponsored vilification, criminalisation and marginalisation of the Roma has normalised racism . . . Deep-seated prejudice of this kind does not instantly evaporate when an international body, a government or a court decides that it is no longer acceptable. Change comes slowly . . . This edited book is an important contribution to this understanding."—The International Journal of Human Rights

"Roma history includes accounts of terrible discrimination but must also pay attention to the development of an admirably courageous global community-beautifully combining resistance to imposed disadvantage with instinctive tolerance of different ways of life of others. This splendid collection of essays brings out the richness of the Roma story-what the world owes to this massively disadvantaged group, and, no less important, what the world has to learn from the global culture of this locally defiant community spread across the world."—Amartya Sen, Harvard University

"By juxtaposing European and American Roma experiences, Realizing Roma Rights demonstrates that Roma cannot fight racism and discrimination without strategic allies in both their countries of origin and their adopted homelands and makes clear the need to develop Roma networks that can advocate for human and legal rights in their communities. Anyone working toward achieving rights for Roma, especially those working in European and international commissions, as well as non-governmental organizations, would benefit from reading this book."—Romani Rose, Chairman of the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma