A three-day mission to Greece (30 March – 1 April) provided Jan Jařab, Regional Representative for Europe of the UN Human Rights office, with opportunities to hold talks on key human rights challenges with several Ministers of the new Greek Government, the President of the Parliament, the Ombudsperson, the National Committee for Human Rights and civil society partners.

On 28 March 2015, the Romanian movie Toto and his sisters by Alexander Nanau won the Objectif d’Or, the first prize at the Brussels’ Millenium International Documentary Film Festival.

The UN General Assembly proclaimed the International Decade for People of African Descent (2015 – 2015) to encourage States to recognize people of African descent and their contributions to the societies in which they live. The Decade also seeks to overcome historical injustices and accelerate development for communities of African descent who remain marginalized, stuck in poverty, and frequently victims of discrimination.

On 10 December every year, we celebrate the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We remind each other that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights – but also that there are many challenges in the world that continue preventing many people from the full enjoyment of their human rights.

An increasing flow of migrants are undertaking perilous and dangerous journeys to reach European shores. So far this year, more than 165,000 migrants have crossed the Mediterranean, compared to 60,000 last year, and over 3,000 have died or are missing at sea.

On 16 and 17 October 2014, OHCHR’s Regional Office for Europe organized in Brussels its fifth annual event dedicated to “Forgotten Europeans” – groups of rights holders who are often left out of mainstream human rights discussions.

On 26 and 27 May, OHCHR Regional Representative for Europe Jan Jařab visited Portugal at the invitation of the outgoing Portuguese High Commissioner for Migrations, Rosário Farmhouse. The main aim of the mission was to make an in-depth evaluation of Portugal's policies concerning migrants and Ciganos (Roma).

On 16 and 17 January, OHCHR’s Regional Office for Europe organized its second “Chatham House rule” colloquium on Roma rights – this time in Madrid, hosted by the Government of Spain, on the issue of Roma segregation in housing.