Contact Point for Roma and Sinti Issues  •  39 ACTIVITIES SECURITY OF ROMA AND SINTI COMMUNITIES Throughout the OSCE region, Roma and Sinti suffer from poverty, insecure and dangerous housing conditions, systemic discrimination in all areas of life, and racism and violence, often due to conflict situations. Hate crimes against Roma and Sinti remain largely underreported, and the relationship between police and these communities suffers from mistrust and lack of understanding, which can lead to ineffective protection. To counter this, in 2015 ODIHR developed a draft curriculum to train police on effective and human rights-compliant policing in relation to Roma and Sinti communities at the local level.   ODIHR assessed the security concerns of Roma and Sinti, including of Roma and Sinti women and youth, in Sweden, Ukraine, Slovakia and Romania, and held meetings with police about their understanding of security issues relating to these communities. Issues raised by the communities and law-enforcement officials formed the basis for the development of the curriculum for promoting effective and human rights-compliant local policing of Roma and Sinti communities. The training curriculum was reviewed by 17 experts, including police officers and Roma and Sinti representatives, at a meeting in Warsaw on 14 and 15 October. ASSESSING THE HOUSING SITUATION OF ROMA AND SINTI ODIHR assessed the housing situation of Roma in Miskolc, Hungary, with a community of some 25,000 Roma. In 2015, local authorities started issuing eviction orders to those living in the “numbered streets” settlement in Miskolc. Those living in “low-comfort” social housing with indefinite contracts were offered compensation of 6,700 euros for terminating their contracts and leaving their homes. The municipal decree further stipulated that those receiving compensation could only use the funds to purchase property outside the city. This condition was subsequently struck down by the Hungarian Supreme Court. ODIHR’s Contact Point monitored this situation throughout the year. At a press conference on 1 July in Budapest, the ODIHR Director called for ensuring sustainable, “ Criminal cases against police representatives suspected of violence against Roma remain under investigation for very long periods of time, which blatantly violates the standards set by the European Court of Human Rights,” Oana Taba from the Romanian NGO Romani Criss. Young Roma and Sinti activists at the Participation and Advocacy Training for Roma and Sinti Youth, organized by OSCE/ODIHR in Warsaw, 30 September 2015. (OSCE/ Piotr Markowski)