About the Traveller Equality and Justice Project
Based within the Centre for Criminal Justice & Human Rights at the UCC School of Law, the TEJP aims to highlight ongoing levels of discrimination experienced by Travellers in Cork and Kerry.
The Rights Aware phase of the TEJP focuses on capacity-building and educational initiatives designed to meet the overall objective of fostering rights awareness and reporting of discrimination experienced by Roma and Travellers. The aim of this is to provide education, employment and training opportunities to Travellers, while seeking to embed all actions within the Traveller community, to build legal and rights-based capacity and knowledge.
These activities are supported by the Council of Europe, Roma and Traveller Unit.
In embedding actions within the affected communities, TEJP Rights Aware recognises the need to build capacity and provide education and employment opportunities. This will empower Traveller and Roma victims of discrimination to understand their rights and how to action them within both the Irish context and the wider Council of Europe rights protection frameworks. This work responds to the vulnerabilities of Travellers and Roma as groups particularly affected by intolerance and discrimination which manifests as anti-Gypsyism, and speaks directly to Article 14 ECHR, RED 2000/43/EC.
The TEJP is proud to be a participatory and community-engaged research project. All TEJP actions are guided by feedback and engagement from the Traveller Community and designed in full partnership with our Traveller Community partners, Kerry Travellers and Travellers of North Cork. In particular, research data gathered under the last stage of the TEJP (2021-2023) revealed a need for Traveller-cultural appropriate and trauma-informed legal resources for Travellers. The Rights Aware project therefore also builds on this knowledge and collaboration to create effective and participatory actions.
Core Proposed Activities.
- (i) Delivery of three Rights Aware Seminars focused on the rights afforded to Travellers and Roma under the Council of Europe frameworks and policies, including particularly the European Convention on Human Rights, Framework Convention on the Protection of National Minorities, the European Social Charter, other frameworks such as the Strategic Action Plan on Roma and Traveller Inclusion (2020-2025). Information resources will accompany these seminars and supplement their reach.
- (ii) Development and capacity building of the next stage of the Traveller Court Supports Initiative (TCSI), including preparing for a national launch.
- (iii) Creation of TravLaw Programme to embed legal training within Traveller Community and create education and employment opportunities.
In highlighting the barriers to justice that Travellers face in seeking to challenge their right to equal treatment under the Equal Status Acts 2000-2018, the TEJP seeks to address the ‘rediscrimination’ that many Travellers experience attempting to secure their right to equal treatment and access legal services.
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Funding:
The Traveller Equality and Justice Project is funded by the Council of Europe, Roma and Travellers Division for September-December 2024 for activity 'Rights Aware,' Capacity Building for Roma and Traveller Civil Society organisations to use Council of Europe standards and mechanisms for promoting rights of Roma and Travellers.
Past Funding:
The Traveller Equality & Justice Project was funded by the European Union’s Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme (2014-2020) under Grant Agreement number: 963353 — TEJP — REC-AG-2020 / REC-RDIS-DISC-AG-2020 for the period of January 2021-October 2023.
The Rights Equality and Citizenship Award allowed the TEJP to build upon the CCJHR’s existing partnership with the Traveller Community in Cork and Kerry and the creation of the new TEJP Traveller-specific legal clinic in line with the research findings. During the funding period, the TEJP provided legal information and supports to 97 Traveller victims of discrimination across Cork & Kerry.
It also allowed for the creation of a vital data set around Traveller experience of discrimination and engagement with the legal system and access to justice. Currently, such data on the Irish Traveller Community does not exist.
The contents of this website represent the views of the Traveller Equality & Justice Project only and is their sole responsibility. The views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the Council of Europe.