Roma and Environmental Racism: The Role of the EU Strategic Framework in Ensuring Environmental Rights and Dignity

Under International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the ERGO Network and the European Environmental Bureau (EEB) are organising an online joint policy launching event on Environmental Justice in Roma Communities and the EU Roma Strategic Framework on 29 January 2024 from 14:00 to 16:30.

Last autumn, the EEB and the ERGO Network collaborated to host the inaugural Environmental Justice Conference for Roma communities in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. The event arose as a natural response to the EU’s recognition of environmental justice in October 2020, signified by the adoption of the EU Strategic Framework for Roma Equality, Inclusion, and Participation – a pioneering policy document which notably highlights the imperative for environmental justice within the EU. 

This collaboration will now be followed up in the framework of the Roma Holocaust Remembrance Day by a joint EEB/ERGO event on Environmental Justice in Roma Communities and the EU Roma Strategic Framework.

The event aims to launch several policy products developed by the European Environmental Bureau and the ERGO Network, including the joint report on Environmental Justice in National Roma Strategic Frameworks, the EEB Case studies on Environmental Racism and the Basic Principles of Environmental Justice and Roma communities as a main outcome of our October Environmental Justice Conference in Cluj, Romania.

The event seeks to heighten awareness about the imperative to monitor the repercussions of environmental racism on Roma communities. This monitoring spans the National Roma Strategic Frameworks and wider EU Environmental policies and programs, emphasizing a commitment to a human rights baseline— a fundamental principle of environmental justice.

Lastly, the event endeavours to actively involve stakeholders in this crucial dialogue to continue to work ahead in 2024.

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