prijava
SARAJEVO, April 6 (FENA) - Dervo Sejdić, a member of the Committee for Rome at the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, said today in Sarajevo at an event organized on the occasion of April 8, International Roma Day, that Bosnia and Herzegovina has made limited progress in the social inclusion of Roma in the process of education, employment, housing and health care.
- There are many challenges ahead of us, to develop anti-discrimination policies and policies for the Roma, to do further additional social integration, including the Roma in planning, implementation and decision-making on issues when the topic of the agenda is the Roma agenda - said Sejdić.
He expressed the expectation that together, the Roma community, the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with partners from the international community, will do much more to improve the economic and social situation in the Roma community through the quality implementation of the outlined sectoral policies.
As part of the celebration of International Roma Day, a round table was held on the topic "Challenges and problems in the implementation of educational policies aimed at Roma and Roma women in Bosnia and Herzegovina".
The Minister for Human Rights and Refugees of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sevlid Hurtić, said that the Ministry is making a big contribution in engaging the Roma as much as possible in the education system.
- Education is the key to the future. I don't want to see those children on the street. I want these children to complete primary and secondary education and university - said Minister Hurtić.
He said that this year the Ministry of Human Rights and Refugees will allocate two million KM for the Roma population.
The Head of the OSCE Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brian Aggeler, said that the International Roma Day is an opportunity to celebrate the rich Roma culture and at the same time highlight the many obstacles faced by Roma communities around the world.
He reiterated the importance of promoting and preserving Roma culture and identity and emphasized the urgency of solving discrimination against Roma, as well as obstacles in many areas that prevent them from fully realizing their rights.
He said, the OSCE Mission in BiH expresses its satisfaction with the fact that BiH has adopted a relatively advanced law in the field of human rights, which aims to protect the Roma and preserve their rights.
- It is necessary to work further on accelerating reforms in order to improve the overall position of Roma in society. In this sense, I call on the decision-makers to ensure sufficient financial resources allocated for Roma inclusion initiatives - said Aggeler.
He added that this implies important financing of action plans for Roma related to housing, health care, education and employment, as well as other programs.
- At the same time, we strongly support greater inclusion, the involvement of Roma in the development of labor policies, in the implementation of labor policies, as well as in overall political representation. Although they are the largest national minority in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Roma political representation at all levels of government is at an extremely low level, especially when it comes to women - said Aggeler.
He noted that the OSCE Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina is ready to support the authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina in achieving the full realization of rights and greater socio-economic and political inclusion of the Roma in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Bojana Urumova, head of the Council of Europe Office in BiH, said that education is key from the aspect of inclusion, but also for better knowledge of the history of the Roma community.
According to her, the Council of Europe had an important role because documents and materials were prepared that show the rich history of the Roma people everywhere in Europe and their important contribution to European culture in general.
- The importance of this nation and its contribution to European and world culture should not be underestimated. The affirmation of this culture is very significant - stated Urumova.
She urged everyone to work even harder on their full inclusion and affirmation.
The representative of the EU Delegation in BiH, Alessandro De Giacomo, said that the EU is fully committed to improving the socio-economic integration of Roma in the European Union, in the enlargement countries and in all other areas.
According to him, the Roma population in BiH, which is estimated at between 40 and 80 thousand people, are still victims of deep-rooted social exclusion.
- In order to address these issues, the EU is engaged in terms of providing political and financial assistance. Since 2007, the European Union has supported the social inclusion of Roma in Bosnia and Herzegovina. That aid amounted to more than six million euros, and it was provided through regional projects, IPA projects and the thematic program for human rights and democracy, and through the European instrument for human rights and democracy - said De Giacomo.
(FENA) L. N.
