Motion #01
The traditional way of life of Gypsies, Roma and Travellers is threatened by the recent Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act, criminalising nomadic life. Systemic barriers for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities remain. This motion seeks to address these barriers and ensure equity, equality, and justice for these communities.
Delete RR700 – RR709 and replace it with the following RR700 - RR708:
Heading: Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Rights
RR700 The UK Parliament should adopt specific legislation to protect Gypsies, Roma and Travellers from discrimination, or adapt the current Equality Act with specific provisions.
RR701 As a signatory and ratifier to the treaty, the UK Government should follow more closely the provisions of the Council of Europe Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities.
RR702 To improve the decisions in cases of discrimination against Gypsies, Roma and Travellers brought forward to the UK Equality and Human Rights Commission, the Commission should invite at least one Gypsy, Roma or Traveller member on to its committee.
RR703 The UK Government should elaborate, adopt and implement a new National Strategy that addresses Gypsy, Roma and Traveller inequalities in life outcomes, and that supersedes the current National Strategy to tackle Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Inequalities. The UK Government should support the creation of an effective, efficient, wider and recognised Gypsy, Roma and Traveller representative body, that will partner the UK Government and Parliament in this process of developing and implementing this Gypsy, Roma and Traveller National Strategy.
RR704 The Green Party will repeal those sections of the 1986 Public Order Act, the 1994 Criminal Justice and Public Order Act and the 2022 Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act which discriminate against and criminalise Gypsies, Roma and Travellers. The Green Party would abolish “wide injunctions” preventing unauthorised encampments on large areas of public land, and create a system of planning assistance for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities to enable them to obtain planning permission for appropriate sites in keeping with both traditional lifestyles and modern aspirations of equality and human dignity.
RR705 The Green Party aims to ensure everyone is provided with housing appropriate to their needs, including Gypsies, Roma and Travellers. The Green Party would legislate to require Devolved Governments and Local Authorities to implement a statutory duty to provide a national network of Gypsy and Traveller sites, both private and local authority (residential, negotiated and transit) on safe and healthy land; this would restore the duty previously contained in the 1968 Caravan Sites Act until 1994, but with stricter enforcement of the requirement of accurate assessment of local need, and without the added eviction powers of “designated area” status which existed under that Act.
RR706 Local Authorities would be obliged to support the creation of local Gypsy, Roma and Traveller mediator networks, that will aim to improve Gypsy, Roma and Traveller access to public services and the gathering of more comprehensive and accurate data on the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller population.
RR707 To improve representation and to raise public awareness regarding the Roma and Sinti Holocaust, the UK Holocaust Commission should accept at least one member of Roma or Sinti origin.
RR708 Local Authorities and civil society actors should support the preservation and promotion of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller cultural heritage (e.g., June – Gypsy, Roma and Traveller History Month, 8 April – International Roma Day, 2 August – Roma Holocaust Memorial Day, cultural events, fairs, festivals, etc). We would call on the Department for Education to give special attention to Gypsy, Roma and Traveller language and history and to include elements of this in the formal education national curriculum.