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Combating the exclusion and isolation of Roma

7 April 2014
Roma student preparing for the upcoming academic year at the school in Berane, Montenegro, July 2013.
(Best Practices for Roma Integration Project) Photo details

International Roma Day 2014

The Roma have contributed elements of their rich culture and traditions to European society for centuries. International Roma Day on April 8 is an annual opportunity to celebrate the Roma – Europe’s largest ethnic minority group. It is also a time to reflect on the discrimination and challenges millions of Roma continue to face in their daily lives in areas including education, employment, housing, healthcare and policing. The OSCE works to combat the exclusion and isolation of Roma throughout Europe and also places importance on supporting Roma so they themselves can become agents for change.

Building trust between police and Roma communities

Greater efforts are needed to train police officers to properly identify and investigate hate crimes, including against Roma, as well as to sensitize them to the threats and difficulties faced by Roma communities.

Ambassador Janez Lenarčič, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR)

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Living throughout Europe, Roma and Sinti communities are among the continent's most vulnerable minority groups. Historically marginalized, they suffer widespread abuse and discrimination, often at the hands of the authorities, including the police.

The OSCE - through co-operation between its Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and Strategic Police Matters Unit (SPMU) - has been taking steps to help put an end to such abuse by building trust and understanding between Roma and Sinti communities and the police forces that serve them.

Twenty experts from law enforcement agencies and Roma civil society met in Warsaw on International Roma Day 2014 to share good practices in policing at the local level. In particular, participants focused on practical applications of the Police and Roma and Sinti: Good Practices in Building Trust and Understanding handbook, which was published by ODIHR and the SPMU in 2010.

In the Action Plan on Improving the Situation of Roma and Sinti in the OSCE Area, adopted in 2003, ODIHR, the SPMU and the Office of the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM) are mandated to assist OSCE participating States in developing programmes and confidence-building measures to improve relations and co-operation between Roma and Sinti communities and the police.

Faces of Roma

"I go to school and I like to study. But I don’t understand why some children avoid me."

In March 2014, OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina supported World Vision to produce the "Face of Roma in Bosnia and Herzegovina" street campaign where Roma people, both adults and children, were asked about their lives, their thoughts, their wishes and their dreams, to raise awareness of the challenges facing Roma on daily basis.

Best Practices for Roma Integration: Showcasing Professional Talent

While more and more Roma are receiving quality educations, many still find their paths to successful careers blocked, often as a result of discrimination.

In response, the OSCE/ODIHR Best Practices for Roma Integration project, funded by the EU, has developed a special approach to helping Roma professionals take their first steps on the career ladder.

Talented members from Roma communities across Bosnia and Herzegovina were employed under the project. To mark the completion of the initiative, interviews with participants were released by the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, offering an inside look into their experiences.

Recognizing the OSCE’s contribution

The OSCE’s field operations work with the authorities, civil society and Roma communities on the ground to promote the greater inclusion of Roma and Sinti into mainstream society and improve their access to basic services like education, adequate housing and healthcare.

To mark International Roma Day 2014, Serbia’s Roma National Council recognized the important work done by the OSCE Mission to Serbia in this area with a special award.

Since 2006, the OSCE Mission to Serbia has implemented a number of projects in co-operation with its partners to help national and local authorities design and implement Roma inclusion plans, support and strengthen Roma civil society, improve housing, introduce scholarships for Roma students and provide legal aid for Roma without personal documents.