attitudes towards Roma. In particular, they allege that some Czech hostels groundlessly evict Roma who fled from Ukraine. Polish activist Joanna Talewicz-Kwiatkowska reported that Roma are often not allowed to enter refugee centers in Warsaw and even some train stations under the pretext of “preventing theft.” Roma people also face difficulties in Romania. Despite the fact that in Bucharest they are met by volunteers and immediately placed in tents that the local authorities set up on the territory of the railway stations, we receive various complaints from the Roma people about the attitude towards them while they are trying to receive humanitarian aid. A Roma person confirms: “We are gypsies from Kharkiv. We are not allowed to get warm here. We are not allowed to get some water. And we cannot get some stuff for a child. It seems that we are mistaken for locals. There are 31 of us, 18 children. Our luggage was lost. Before that, we had to sleep in the gym for three days.” ICG – International Crisis Group, Mitigating the Gendered Effects of Ukraine’s Refugee Crisis; Article on the humanitarian impact of the Ukrainian government's decision to not allow men in conscription age to flee the country from Russian attack, 16 March 2022 "Various ethnic and social groups face very specific challenges as they seek refuge. Many Ukrainians of Roma origin, who often suffer discrimination in Ukraine, may have no documentation of identity or citizenship. Ukrainians and non-Ukrainians of colour have reported mistreatment from both Ukrainian authorities and those in host countries as they flee. LGBTQI people risk a less warm welcome in Poland and Hungary, the two largest receiving countries. Both the Polish and Hungarian governments have adopted homophobic and transphobic legislation. Trans women are forbidden to leave Ukraine if their documents identify them as men." OHCHR, Ukraine: UN expert says war against multi-ethnic population must stop, calls for protection of all minorities, 16 March 2022 "It is of paramount importance to acknowledge that minorities, such as Roma, many of whom may be undocumented in Ukraine, face specific vulnerabilities in the times of this conflict. I urge all parties to ensure that all minorities, including Roma, have access to humanitarian assistance without any discrimination. All people of Ukraine, including people of African, Asian, Middle Eastern descent and Roma should be granted equal protection and safety when seeking refuge inside and outside of the country, regardless of their ethnicity, religion, language or status. Minorities such as Roma or people of African descent and all others regardless of the colour of their skin, or their ethnicity or religion, must all be dealt with without discrimination along their evacuation route out of Ukraine." Human Rights Watch, Ukraine: Ensure Safe Passage, Aid for Mariupol Civilians, 12 March 2022 "Following what residents described as days of especially heavy shelling on March 13 and 14, some of them with access to private cars decided to try to leave the city on their own, despite the ongoing shelling and needing to pass through Russian checkpoints. A convoy of about 160 cars left Mariupol on March 14, and hundreds more left on March 15. Serhii, the shipping inspector, told Human Rights Watch he estimated that, for each car in Mariupol that still functioned, he had seen at least 50 other cars destroyed during the bombardment, seriously limiting the ability of many Mariupol residents to escape. Residents described passing through between 15 and 20 Russian military checkpoints between Mariupol and Zaporizhzhia. They all said that Russian soldiers either asked for the documents of the driver or for everyone’s documents. Serhii said the soldiers were paying particular attention to the registered address that is written in Ukrainian passports to see if people were from Mariupol or elsewhere. “I suspect they did this because, if they came across a man not from Mariupol, they would assume he was a soldier,” he said. The Russian forces also made Serhii expose his shoulders, apparently to look for signs of bruising which might indicate that a person had used a firearm. Another resident said that they inspected the hands of the adult men for signs that they had been fighting or using a weapon." 54