Policy Paper: Rights of Roma in Greece
The Greek National Commission for Human Rights (GNCHR) is publishing its Policy Paper, “Rights of Roma in Greece: From Fragmented Interventions to a Rights-Based Framework for Equality, Inclusion and Accountability.”
This Policy Paper distilis the principal findings and policy recommendations of the GNCHR Reference Report on the Rights of Roma in Greece (2026).
The Policy Paper is available here
Executive Summary
The Roma community in Greece continues to experience persistent and mutually reinforcing inequalities in housing, employment, health, education and access to public services. These inequalities are further compounded by antigypsyism, discrimination, administrative barriers and, in some cases, serious concerns regarding police conduct and effective accountability. The Greek National Commission for Human Rights (GNCHR), the national human rights institution (NHRI) of Greece, calls for a shift from fragmented interventions towards a coherent, rights-based and measurable public policy framework.
The GNCHR’s approach rests on six interconnected priorities: adequate housing and access to essential services; effective access to employment and economic empowerment; effective access to health and social protection; equal and inclusive education; intersectional policy; and the systematic prevention of antigypsyism and police violence. These priorities must be implemented together. Housing insecurity affects school attendance and health; educational exclusion limits access to stable employment; unemployment reproduces poverty; and discrimination undermines access to services across all sectors.
The central policy requirement is to ensure that implementation is accompanied by clear accountability. Every measure should have a clear responsible authority, timetable, secured resources and measurable objectives. Roma representatives, mediators and experts must participate meaningfully in policy design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. The GNCHR further proposes a unified structure-process-outcome indicator framework, aligned with the EU Roma Strategic Framework and the work of the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights, so that progress is assessed by changes in lived conditions rather than by the number of programmes announced or funds absorbed.