[ Contact Point for Roma and Sinti Issues ]
Katalin Barsony, Executive
Director of Romedia
Foundation, speaks at a
side event on the role of the
media in countering negative
stereotypes against Roma
during the Human Dimension
Implementation Meeting,
Warsaw, 5 October 2011.
(OSCE/Jens Eschenbaecher)
children to education. In addition, the Contact Point
engaged with Polish authorities throughout the year
to promote access to early and quality education for
Roma children in Poland and to develop tools for raising awareness among Roma of the importance of early
education.
To address the particularly vulnerable situation of
Roma without civil registration documents, ODIHR
shared its expertise at the regional “Conference on
Provision of Civil Documentation and Registration in
South Eastern Europe”, organized by the OSCE High
Commissioner on National Minorities, in co-operation with the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees, on 26 and 27 October in Zagreb.
The Office also supported the filming of We Want
to be Heard, a short documentary on Roma and
Sinti, during the HDIM Special Day on Roma and
Sinti. The film, by a young Roma director, includes
interviews with civil society and government representatives about discrimination against Roma and
Sinti at the local level and highlights ODIHR’s work
in prevention and education in this area. The Office
actively promoted the documentary by sharing it
through social networks. It is also available on the
ODIHR website.
Combating hate crimes and discrimination
throughout the OSCE area
The Special Day on Roma and Sinti during the HDIM
focused on effective responses to intolerance directed
at these communities, on enhancing implementation of
OSCE commitments in this area, and on building partnerships between participating States and Roma and
Sinti representatives in the design and implementation
of integration policies. ODIHR organized three additional side events: on the role of the media and Roma
organizations in countering prejudices and negative
stereotypes; on challenges, risks and responses with
regard to extremism and Roma and Sinti in Europe;
and, in co-operation with the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), on ECRI’s
General Policy Recommendation No. 13 on combating anti-Gypsyism and discrimination against Roma.
In addition, another side event during the HDIM,
“Enhance Child Protection and Prevent Child Trafficking”, was aimed at raising awareness of challenges and
good practices in the protection of children from vulnerable communities, including Roma and Sinti.
Following an increasing number of marches by
extremist groups targeting Roma neighborhoods in
the Czech Republic, ODIHR’s Senior Adviser on Roma
and Sinti Issues visited a number of locations in the
ODIHR Annual Report 2011
63
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