Bernard Rorke

Bernard Rorke was born in Dublin and lives in Budapest. He has a PhD from the Centre for the Study of Democracy, University of Westminster, London and has worked on Roma rights issues primarily in Central and Eastern Europe for over 20 years.

Eyes wide shut: collective punishment of Roma in 21st-century Europe

75 years after the liberation of Auschwitz, despite the EU Framework for Roma Integration which closes this year, anti-Roma racism has spiked across the continent.

By Bernard Rorke

/ 24 Jan 2020

Eyes wide shut: collective punishment of Roma in 21st-century Europe

Racism's cruelest cut: coercive sterilisation of Romani women and their fight for justice in the Czech Republic (1966-2016)

A government-sponsored eugenics programme in Czechoslovakia sterilised Roma women without their knowledge; though the programme may be dead, the struggle for justice and recognition continues.

By Bernard Rorke and Marek Szilvasi

/ 24 Jan 2017

Slovakia: Roma exclusion and the dark side of democracy

The EU should heed Slovakia consistently falling short of ‘Council of Europe standards’ in a seemingly inexorable shift to the dark side of democracy: illiberal, majoritarian, Christian and national.

By Bernard Rorke

/ 29 Apr 2016

The end of a decade: what happened to Roma inclusion?

Ten years ago the Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005-2015 was launched. Now that the Decade has been formally closed, it is time to reflect on the results.

By Bernard Rorke and Margareta Matache

/ 29 Sep 2015

Anti-Gypsyism 25 years on: Europe fails Havel’s litmus test

Twenty-five years after the fall of communism, it still hasn't sunk in that racism and exclusion is not a ‘Gypsy problem’ but a 'Europe problem'.

By Bernard Rorke

/ 16 Jan 2015

Hungary's Fidesz and its 'Jewish Question'

Hungary’s Fidesz government may not have pursued a state-sponsored policy of anti-Semitism. However, it has indulged in outrageous historical revisionism; failed to censure anti-Semitism from high within its own ranks; and screwed up its official commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the Holoca

By Bernard Rorke

/ 22 Sep 2014

Roma integration and 'a normal way of living'

Roma integration in Europe has shifted to a right-wing definition of integration where the onus is being placed on the minorities to make the adjustments and accommodations deemed necessary for social cohesion.

By Bernard Rorke

/ 1 Jun 2014

National Roma integration strategies failing Romani children

Newly published reports on Roma integration strategies show little signs of tangible progress in 2012, especially in addressing the rights and well-being of Roma youth. European Union member states must act soon to prevent another ‘lost generation’ of Roma.

By Bernard Rorke

/ 7 Jun 2013

Hate is where the heart is: Time for Europe to confront anti-Gypsyism

It is time for the European Union to officially recognize anti-Gypsyism as a long-standing and deeply rooted form of European prejudice.

By Bernard Rorke

/ 2 May 2013

Roma inclusion in 2012: no respite in prejudice

Does the EU deserve its Nobel Peace Prize? 2013 is the European Year of Citizens, dedicated to the rights that come with EU citizenship. It seems utterly remote and removed from the reality facing millions of Roma across the Union.

By Bernard Rorke

/ 11 Jan 2013

The Roma rights dilemma of the French left

On the Roma issue, the French left must choose: whether to align itself with the forces of progress to combat anti-Roma racism and exclusion; or persist with evictions and expulsions, and find itself bedded down with Europe’s forces of reactionary populism.

By Bernard Rorke

/ 12 Sep 2012