On 10-11 May 2022, the Council of Europe held its 13th Dialogue Meeting with Roma and Traveller civil society in Strasbourg in hybrid format, focusing on the topic of defending the rights of the Roma and Traveller children.

The meeting brought together 55 representatives of different Roma and Traveller civil society organisations, different services of the Council of Europe Secretariat, representatives of inter-governmental organisations and member state authorities currently working for the protection and promotion of the rights of Roma and Traveller children.

The participants took stock of current violations of the rights of Roma and Traveller children in member states and of states’ responses to these infringements. Further, existing initiatives of the member states and of civil society organisations were presented and based on these, participants made recommendations on how to strengthen the protection of Roma and Traveller children’s rights.

The participants discussed the new Council of Europe Strategy for the Rights of the Child (2022-2027) and how it can be used to support the full realisation of the rights of Roma and Traveller children at European and national level.

The conclusions and recommendations resulting from the 13th Dialogue Meeting, currently being finalised by the General Rapporteur, will be presented at the 6th meeting of the Committee of Experts on Roma and Traveller Issues (ADI-ROM) in September 2022 for follow-up.

The 14th meeting of the Council of Europe Dialogue with Roma and Traveller civil society, scheduled to take place in Autumn 2022, will focus on the Mid-Term Review of the implementation of the Strategic Action Plan for Roma and Traveller Inclusion (2020-2025). Calls for expressions of interest in participating in that Dialogue meeting will be published on this web site in due course.