Minority Rights and the Roma of Central and Eastern Europe

Since 1990, minority rights have enjoyed an extraordinary renaissance in Europe. Ironically, this has occurred at precisely the time when Europe's largest ethnic minority, the Roma, has faced an unprecedented crisis, particularly in post-Communist states. This article explores the various problems facing the Roma in Central and Eastern Europe and considers why minority rights regimes have had a marginal impact on the situation confronting this minority. In addition, the article reflects on whether current conceptions of minority rights are well suited to such an extraordinarily heterogeneous ‘people’ as the Roma, many of whom have lost the cultural and linguistic features that formerly distinguished them as a minority.