For Immediate Release: October 13, 2010

Discussion to Address Europe’s Roma Discrimination Crisis, Uganda’s Anti-Gay Legislation

Washington, DC – As the plight of Roma in Europe and concerns about growing anti-gay sentiment throughout Africa continue to capture headlines across the globe, Human Rights First and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars will host a forum featuring human rights activists on the front lines of these rights challenges. Their experiences, combined with observations and recommendations from public policy experts, will offer a unique look at these serious problems and provide a series of recommendations to combat intolerance and hate crime.

The Wed., Oct. 20 panel will feature Viktória Mohácsi, a renowned Roma rights defender and former Member of the European Parliament from Hungary, and Julius Kaggwa, an advocate for the human rights of sexual minorities in Uganda. It will also include Dan Baer, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, and Tad Stahnke, Director of Public Policy and Programs at Human Rights First. Christian Ostermann, Director of European Studies at the Woodrow Wilson Center, will moderate the discussion.

Among the topics on tap for the program are strategies for combating ongoing hate crime and discrimination against European Roma and African LGBTI communities, as well as specific recommendations for governments and intergovernmental organizations currently facing or hoping to intercede in these volatile situations. As part of this conversation, Human Rights First will reveal its new blueprint for addressing hate crime against the Roma in Hungary, a resource with recommendations that could yield positive changes in nations throughout Europe where similar situations exist.

The Woodrow Wilson discussion will take place just one day before Mohácsi and Kaggwa are slated to receive Human Rights First’s 2010 Human Rights Awards in New York City. The pair will be honored during the organization’s annual award dinner on Thurs., Oct. 21. The pair is available for interview throughout the week of Oct. 18-22.