The Tom Lantos Institute (TLI) is an independent human and minority rights organisation with a particular focus on Jewish and Roma communities and on Hungarian and other ethnic or national, linguistic and religious minorities. It is a Budapest-based organisation with a multi-party Board, an international Executive Committee and Advisory Board. TLI operates internationally in terms of scope, funds, staff and partners. As a research and education platform, TLI aims to bridge the gaps between research and policy, norms and practice.

TLI locates itself at the intersection of human rights and identity politics. While appreciating the importance of legal perspectives and remedies to violations, it investigates the problem-solving capacity of existing national and international norms through multidisciplinary approaches. TLI’s principal strategic goal is the socialisation of human and minority rights through research, education, public debates, publishing and memorialisation.

TLI focuses on human rights and identity issues in general and also works on three specific issue areas. These include: Jewish life and antisemitism; Roma rights and citizenship; and Hungarian minorities. TLI identifies and explores issues and undertakes activities that are both specific and common to these fields, looking to create synergies whenever feasible.

UNPO has been collaborating with TLI for the past years, participating in the Institute's annual minority rights summer school held in Budapest and offering its support in the setting up of TLI and the University of London's MinorityForum.info website.