Contact Point for Roma and Sinti Issues Elena Gorolova (l), from from the Group of Roma Women Harmed by Sterilization, addresses participants at an event to highlight discrimination against Romani women in access to health care, as Gabriela Hrabanova, the Policy Co-ordinator at the European Roma Grassroots Organisations Network, listens, Warsaw, 26 September 2012. (OSCE/Shiv Sharma) Republic from 21 to 25 May. The aim of the visit was to assess the progress toward integrating Roma children into mainstream education and addressing continuing challenges in the area of education, especially the placement of Roma children into schools for the mentally disabled. The delegation met with representatives of the national and local governments and education and law enforcement officials. In October 2012 ODIHR published the report: “Equal Access to Quality Education for Roma children: Field Assessment visit to the Czech Republic”. ODIHR’s report notes examples of good practice in some Czech schools, though it finds that many Roma children are still unduly placed in specialized primary schools. The report’s recommendations include phasing out practical schools, promoting and supporting inclusive education, and introducing supportive measures for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. The report was presented and discussed at the Human Dimension Committee meeting in Vienna on 30 October with interested participating States. Combating hate crimes and discrimination Cases of violence, discrimination and intolerance against Roma and Sinti were reported by civil society throughout the year. An apparent rise in anti-Roma incidents, coinciding with the effects of the financial and economic crisis in Europe is of particular concern. In February, the ODIHR Senior Adviser on Roma and Sinti Issues addressed the U.S. Helsinki Commission, providing a detailed presentation of the situation of Roma in the OSCE area and highlighting current challenges with regard to racism and intolerance against Roma and Sinti communities. ODIHR supported the publication of The Gypsy “Menace”: Populism and the New Anti-Gypsy Politics, which provides an academic analysis of current trends and possible ways to combat this extremism. The ODIHR Senior Adviser addressed the issue of violence and anti-Roma rhetoric in the article “Time to act on Roma Inclusion” published in September in the OSCE magazine. Anti-Roma marches organized by extremist groups and incidents of violence against Roma and Sinti were the focus of discussion at a side-event organized by ODIHR in co-operation with the European Roma Rights Centre during the Human Dimension Implementation Meeting. Concerns were raised regarding ultra-nationalist events and demonstrations that attract a significant number of spectators and sympathizers. This intolerance ODIHR Annual Report 2012 65