roma - Совет Европы

The Committee of experts on Roma issues (CAHROM) holds its 5th meeting in Strasbourg on 14-16 May 2013

Strasbourg, 13 April 2013 – The Committee of experts on Roma issues (CAHROM) will hold its 5th meeting in Strasbourg on 14-16 May 2013. Thirty nine member states will be represented, as well as observers, including various representatives of the European Commission, FRA, OSCE-ODIHR, UNHCR, OHCHR, World Bank, Amnesty International , ERTF and the Holy Sea. The agenda includes the presentation of two new thematic reports, namely on encampment sites for Travellers and other related issues (with Belgium as a requesting country and France, Switzerland and the United Kingdom as partner countries) and on school attendance of Roma children with a specific focus on Roma girls (with Finland as a requesting country and Latvia, Norway and Sweden as partner countries).

The Committee will also exchange views with various Council of Europe bodies (CEB, GRETA, Lanzarote Committee, Gender Equality, Domestic violence and violence against women Division, ECRI, Framework Convention for the protection of national minorities, European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights and the European Committee on Social Rights). Other issues to be addressed at this meeting includes the proposal to establish a European Commemoration Day for the genocide of Roma and Sinti during WWII, preschool and other education related issues, legalisation of Roma settlements and houses, Roma refugees, migrants, asylum seekers and stateless children, Roma women and youth activities, as well as recent developments concerning the adoption of national inclusion strategies for Roma and recent launches of the Dosta! campaign.

CAHROM thematic group visits Albania on 15-17 April 2013

Strasbourg, 11 April 2013 – A CAHROM thematic group composed of experts from Albania (requesting country) and Bosnia and Herzegovina and “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” (partner countries) will visit Albania on 15-17 April 2013 to exchange experience in the field of legalization of Roma settlements and houses. The OSCE-ODIHR through its project “Best Practices for Roma Integration (BPRI)”, funded by the EU and participating States, has ensured the participation in this thematic group of an additional expert of Roma origin from the three participating countries. The agenda of the visit will include a round table with various stakeholders, including state officials, NGOs and international organisations present in Albania, such as UNDP and OSCE, as well as bilateral meetings with the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunies/Technical Secretariat for Roma (organiser of the thematic visit), the Ministry of Transport, the Ombudsman and the Municipality of Tirana. The group of experts will also visit the Roma settlements of Shkoza and Bregu I Limit. A preliminary discussion about the outcome and main conclusions of the thematic visit will be held at the 5th CAHROM plenary meeting (Strasbourg, 14-16 May 2013). The experts’ thematic report will be presented to the Committee for endorsement at the 6th CAHROM plenary meeting (Rome, Italy, 28-31 October 2013).

CAHROM thematic visit to Belgium on halting sites for Travellers and nomadic Roma and other related issues

Strasbourg, 13 February 2013 – A CAHROM thematic group composed of experts from Belgium (requesting country) and France, Switzerland and the United Kingdom (partner countries) will visit Belgium on 20-22 February 2013 to exchange experience in the field of halting sites (provision of sites and infrastructure, dealing with unauthorised sites, recognition of caravans as a home, relations between travelling communities and the settled population, etc.) and other issues relevant for Travellers and (semi-) nomadic Roma, Sinti and Yenish communities. The countries involved will also consider issues such as access to health, education and other services. The agenda of the visit will include a meeting with various federal, regional and local authorities, as well as meetings with Travellers and Roma communities on sites in both Flandres and Wallonia. The experts’ thematic report will be presented at the 5th CAHROM plenary meeting (Strasbourg, 14-16 May 2013).

Congress of Roma mediators from the Council of Europe/European Commission ROMED programme

Brussels, 17-18 January 2013 – A Congress of Roma mediators from the Council of Europe/European Commission ROMED programme will take place at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. As well as Roma mediators and trainers from several different countries, participants at the event will include EU Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou and the Special Representative of the Council of Europe Secretary General for Roma issues, Jeroen Schokkenbroek. The Council of Europe Secretary General will be addressing the participants through a video message, which will be available on line on 17th January 2013. Several European Union and Council of Europe officials will be present and other INGOs and organisations like Open Society Foundations, Roma Education Fund, UNESCO, OSCE/ODIHR to listen to and support the more than 250 Roma and Travellers from the 20 countries participating in the Programme.

4th meeting of CAHROM

Strasbourg, 22 November 2012 – The Ad hoc Committee of Experts on Roma Issues (CAHROM) will hold its 4th meeting in Strasbourg on 28-30 November 2012. It will discuss two new thematic reports on social housing for Roma (with “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” as a requesting country and Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Spain as partner countries) and on inclusive education as opposed to special schools (with the Czech Republic and Slovak Republic as requesting countries and Hungary, Slovenia and the United Kingdom as partner countries). Other items on the agenda include trafficking in human beings, empowerment of Roma women and youth, bilateral cooperation in the field of migration, freedom of movement, school drop-outs/absenteeism of Roma children and the role of local and regional authorities in implementing Roma inclusion policies. Exchanges of views will take place with the Commissioner for Human Rights, GRETA and the Children’s Rights transversal project, as well with various representatives of the European Commission and the ERTF. Recent developments regarding various Council of Europe initiatives and projects (including ROMED, the European Alliance of Cities and Regions for Roma inclusion and the Dosta! campaign) will be presented.

The agenda and working documents are available at http://a.cs.coe.int/team20/cahrom/4th%20CAHROM%20plenary%20meeting/Forms/AllItems.aspx

European Alliance promises grassroots boost for Roma inclusion

Representatives from Europe’s cities and regions gather in Strasbourg on September 25th as they continue work to build a European Alliance of Cities and Regions for Roma Inclusion.

An initiative of the first ever Summit of Mayors on Roma, organised in September last year by the Council of Europe Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe with the support of the Special Representative of Secretary General for Roma issues (Mr Jeroen Schokkenbroek), the Alliance has so far been backed by around one hundred municipalities and regions.

Its mission – which will be presented during the September 25th meeting – is to provide a hub for grassroots work on the Roma, allowing its members to share good practice, find joint solutions to common problems, seek funding opportunities, and replicate successful projects in their own constituency. Working methods are expected to include training sessions, workshops, twinning, study visits and day to day contacts between Alliance members, allowing positive developments in local strategies and improved capacity building of local and regional authorities throughout Europe.
 

Council of Europe Committee of Ministers adopts CM Recommendation (2012)9 on mediation as an effective tool for promoting respect for human rights and social inclusion of Roma

Strasbourg, 14 September 2012 - The Council of Europe Committee of Ministers by adopting on 12 September CM Recommendation (2012)9 on mediation as an effective tool for promoting respect for human rights and social inclusion of Roma called on member governments to draw on the positive experience of the ROMED training programme by setting-up their own effective system of quality mediation with Roma communities. The Recommendation stresses the benefits of mediation in terms of Roma access to health, housing, education and jobs. The CM welcomed the fact that such mediation is being practiced more widely and becoming an explicit part of national strategies and action plans for Roma inclusion. The Recommendation mentions key principles for making mediation effective and asks member states to recognise officially the profession of mediator.
Recommendation
ROMED website
Roma mediators video

Council of Europe Committee of Ministers takes note of the Abridged Report of the 3rd CAHROM meeting (Skopje and Ohrid, 22-25 May 2012), as well as of the two first CAHROM thematic reports

Strasbourg, 14 September 2012 - The Council of Europe Committee of Ministers took note on 12 September of the Abridged Report of the 3rd CAHROM meeting (Skopje and Ohrid, 22-25 May 2012), as well as of the two first CAHROM thematic reports – resulting from exchange of experience between member states - on school drop-outs/absenteeism of Roma children and on the role of state, local and regional authorities in implementing national policies/action plans for Roma respectively. New thematic reports on social housing for Roma, inclusive education as opposed to special schools and on school drop-outs/absenteeism of Roma girls will be presented at the 4th CAHROM meeting in Strasbourg on 28-30 November. Other agenda items will include trafficking in human beings, bilateral cooperation in the field of Roma migration, freedom of movement and gender aspects.
The reports are available on CAHROM website

3rd CAHROM meeting in Skopje and Ohrid from 22 to 25 May 2012

The 3rd CAHROM meeting, preceded by a joint meeting on social housing for Roma with participants of the Decade for Roma Inclusion took place in Skopje and Ohrid, "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia", from 22 to 25 May with over 60 participants. It was followed by a field visit to Shuto Orizari municipality in Skopje. The meeting abridged report

Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner deeply concerned at recent Roma treatment in Baia Mare (Romania)

Commissioner Muižnieks expressed today his deep concern about the evictions of more than 300 Roma families and their relocation to buildings formerly owned by a disused chemical factory in the Romanian city of Baia Mare. (more...)
 

Ending school segregation of Roma children a priority for Council of Europe
At its meeting of 22-25 May 2012, the CoE Committee of Experts on Roma Issues (CAHROM) exchanged views on the problem of segregation of Roma children in education and agreed that this should be a priority in its future thematic work. This will be pursued at the next CAHROM meeting (28-30 November 2012). In a separate development, the Committee of Ministers on 6 June 2012 examined the state of execution of the leading judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in this field (D.H. v. Czech Republic). Its decisions, among other things, stress the importance of accelerating implementation of the judgment which has been final for almost 5 years, in order to achieve concrete progress on the ground.
Decision of the Committee of Ministers
 

PACE Committee approves report: Roma face ‘double stigmatisation’ when they are on the move - Strasbourg, 1 June 2012

Roma face “double stigmatisation” when they are on the move, firstly as a persecuted and victimised minority and secondly as migrants, according to PACE’s Migration Committee. (more...)
 

Conference The Roma between Past and Future - Amsterdam, 6 May 2012

The Support Team to the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Roma Issues participated at this Conference on 6 May in Amsterdam.
Closing statement
Programme

2012 European Civil Rights Prize

The 2012 European Civil Rights Prize of the Sinti and Roma was awarded to Thomas Hammarberg, the current Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights. The award ceremony took place in Berlin on 3 April 2012More information

 Commissioner Hammarberg publishes a Europe-wide overview of the Human Rights situation of Roma

A Europe-wide overview of the Human Rights situation of Roma is provided by the newly published report of the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Thomas Hammarberg. The full text of the report is available.

John Warmisham calls on the authorities in Vilnius and Tirana to stop evictions of Roma

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