The European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC), an international public interest law organisation aimed at combating anti-Romani racism and human rights abuse of Romani, has recently addressed a public letter of concern to the Slovak authorities after the death of five Roma children.
In the letter ERRC calls on the local and national authorities to make more efforts to develop a sustainable long – term solution. Immediate and resolute actions to ensure that Slovakia’s most vulnerable citizens have adequate shelter and safe living conditions to prevent further fatalities are required.
The authorities are also asked to inform the Organisation about concrete strategic measures and integrated policies they envisage to deal with the range of factors that render Roma children especially vulnerable, and to ensure their health, safety, wellbeing and fundamental rights.
According to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) domestic authorities must “do all that could reasonably be expected of them to avoid a real and immediate risk to life of which they had or ought to have had knowledge.” The ECtHR has also stated that in circumstances where children are at risk because of the economic and social conditions of the families, the appropriate response is for States to provide support to allow the families to stay together and the children to be safe.