Print
See related documents
Reply to Recommendation | Doc. 12481 | 24 January 2011
The situation of Roma in Europe and relevant activities of the Council of Europe
1. The Committee of Ministers has noted
with interest Parliamentary Assembly Recommendation 1924 (2010)
on “The situation of Roma in Europe and relevant activities of the
Council of Europe” which calls on the Council for Europe to strengthen
its long-standing commitment to promoting the human rights and social integration
of Roma. The Committee of Ministers has brought the recommendation
to the attention of governments and has also communicated it to
the relevant intergovernmental committees. 
2. Despite continuous efforts and activities carried out by the
Council of Europe, the Committee of Ministers recognises that Roma,
in many parts of Europe continue to be socially and economically
marginalised, which undermines the respect of their human rights,
impedes their full participation in society and effective exercise of
civic responsibilities, and propagates prejudice. It agrees that
the situation of Roma in Europe should be kept high on the political
agenda of the Council of Europe. Against this background, a number
of developments have taken place since the adoption of the recommendation
under consideration which fully concur with the direction proposed
by the Assembly.
3. A high-level meeting on the Roma was held on 20 October 2010,
at the invitation of the Secretary General and the Chairman of the
Committee of Ministers. Representatives of the governments of member states,
the presidents of the Assembly, of the European Court of Human Rights
and of the Congress for Local and Regional Authorities, the Commissioner
for Human Rights, the Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights
and Citizenship of the European Union and representatives of the
OSCE, the EU Fundamental Rights Agency, the Council Europe Development
Bank and of the European Roma and Travellers Forum, all participated
in the meeting with a view to identifying concrete lines of action
to address the challenges faced in member states with regard to
Roma. The meeting led to the adoption of the “Strasbourg Declaration”
which includes a non-exhaustive list of guiding principles and priorities
on: a) non-discrimination and citizenship, including women's rights
and gender equality as well as children’s rights, b) social inclusion
including education, employment, housing and healthcare and c) international
co-operation. These should serve as guidance for more focused and
more consistent efforts at all levels, pan-European, national, regional
and local, including through the active participation of Roma.
4. Measures were also set out for the effective implementation
of these priorities, and to this end the budgetary means have been
strengthened in the Council of Europe 2011 Programme and Budget.
A specific programme has been created “Roma: promoting social inclusion
and respect for human rights”. The Secretary General has also taken
measures on an organisational level to ensure that the Secretariat’s
work in this field is organised in a transversal manner and on the
basis of the priorities and modalities set by the Strasbourg Declaration,
and to this end has appointed a senior official to lead these efforts.
Immediate action has thus been launched with regard, inter alia, to capacity building
– which will include a major forward-looking European training
programme for Roma mediators and lawyers who will work to tackle
access to housing, schools, health and jobs, and to link the Roma
communities and civil society; the creation of a database to collect,
analyse, exchange and disseminate information on policies and good
practice on Roma and Travellers in member states; the development
of close co-operation with institutional and external partners – including with
Roma and other relevant civil society organisations, such as the
European Roma and Travellers Forum – and finally, awareness raising
activities, in particular further launches of the Council of Europe
“Dosta!” campaign “Go beyond prejudice, meet the Roma!” in the member
states.
5. Furthermore, the Secretary General has elaborated the “Strasbourg
initiatives”, an open-ended list of good practices for concrete
actions to be implemented by national governments, local and regional
authorities, with an immediate and measurable impact.
6. The Assembly will note that the results of the high level
meeting are largely in line with the present recommendation on “the
situation of Roma in Europe and relevant activities of the Council
of Europe”. The Secretary General will present a first progress
report on the implementation of the Strasbourg Declaration to the
Council of Europe Ministerial Session in Istanbul in May 2011.
7. The Committee of Ministers has noted the Assembly’s invitation
to enhance efforts aimed at the speedy ratification, by member states
which have not yet done so, of certain relevant international instruments.