Supporting Roma Empowerment and Fighting Discrimination

1. Support Team of the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Roma Issues The I-CARE UNIT - Second part -

2. OBJECTIVES • Strengthen anti-Gypsyism and antidiscrimination actions against Roma within the CoE and outside through capacity building and awareness raising of state actors, intergovernmental co-operation and standard-setting; • Maintain and disseminate a data base of best practices on Roma within the CoE and beyond; • Increase partnerships and networking with other intergovernmental and Roma/human rights organisations on Roma priorities and anti-Gypsyism in particular; • Promote and support the empowerment of Romani women and youth at national and international level; • Promote and support the mainstreaming of Roma, Romani women and youth issues in the work of other CoE sectors.

3. Dosta! Campaign • Fighting stereotypes and negative prejudices against Roma; • Combating anti-Gypsyism in the framework of policies/actions against racism and discrimination; • Raising awareness about Romani culture, language and history.

4. Dosta Members • 2006-07: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, and "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" – • 2008: Republic of Moldova, Ukraine, Romania, Slovenia • 2009: Latvia and Croatia • 2010: Bulgaria, Italy and various French municipalities • 201: Greece, Kosovo* • 2013: Lithuania, Spain and the Slovak Republic.

5. Dosta events in 2014 • ERTF Celebration of the International Roma Day and the inauguration of the exhibition “Romani Language: an asset for education and diversity” by Mr. Marcel Courthiade and the on-line Dosta photos and testimonials exhibition “Roma Role Models” • Exhibition ‘Have a look into my life’, Austrian Chairmanship, ERTF, Roma Alliance, Strasbourg Municipality, 8-25 May 2014 Strasbourg • Support for Roma Pride in France, Hungary, Turkey, “the former Yugoslav Republic of and Macedonia” • ERTF 70th commemoration of Roma victims during WWII, 16 October 2014 Strasbourg • Cross-cutting CAHROM Thematic visit on Romani language, Zagreb • International seminar on introducing Roma history teaching in national school curriculum, 11-12 December 2014, Rome, organised by the CoE ST of the SRSG for Roma Issues and the Ministry of Education, Italy (20 MS invited)

6. Dosta events in 2015 • 2015 – Dosta launches (Latvia) • Follow-up to the Roma history teaching seminar • Follow-up CAHROM thematic visits • Roma pride events

7. Training on non-discrimination with a focus on Roma in 2014 • Legal professions: lawyers, prosecutors, judges • Law enforcement • Prison staff

8. Training for legal professionals • Training of HELP Trainers (HELP, SOGI and ST SRSG for Roma Issues) on anti-discrimination with a focus on Roma and LGBT, 3-6 November 2014, Strasbourg [160 applications from 40 MS; 45 participants] • Resources: Roma Handbook; HELP module on anti-discrimination; Roma Module; manual for HR training etc. • Training for lawyers from Albania and Kosovo* on the right to housing and protection from forced evictions with a focus on Roma (Ashkali) and Egyptians, 15-16 December 2014, Tirana

9. Training on non-discrimination for law enforcement • Police training of trainers for non-discrimination with a focus on Roma and SOGI issues (SOGI, CLC, ST SRSG for Roma Issues), 19-21 November, Strasbourg [60 applications from 26 MS; 26 participants from 22 MS] • Training for police on anti-discrimination with a focus on Roma (OSCAD, Ministry of Interior Italy, ST SRSG for Roma Issues), 9-10 December, Rome [100 police officers] • Contribute to the training of trainers for police on gender-based violence by the Norway programme on gender-based violence/Equality Division, Spring 2015, Bulgaria (provide trainers on Roma/gender and facilitate training sessions)

10. Training for prisons administration • Training of trainers for prison administration on non-discrimination with a focus on Roma (Justice capacity building/Norway grants, Correction services Sofia, St SRSG for Roma Issues), Spring 2015, Sofia • Prior needs assessment in Bulgarian prisons (including women’s prison in Sliven and juveniles’) • Contribute to the predefined project “Improving the competencies of personnel selection and psychological counselling” in preventing ethnic violence in Bulgarian prisons, promoting tolerance towards difference and Roma integration (training of 17 employees and a pilot implementation of a program of 100 prisoners from different ethnic groups), February 2015, Bulgaria.

11. Training activities in 2015 • Follow-up Training of Trainers for CoE MS and national trainings for legal professionals for selected/requesting countries + the WB + Turkey on the ECHR and the ECtHR case law on Roma + national legal structures, new laws and the application of the ECtHR case law • Follow-up Training of Trainers for CoE MS law enforcement and national training in WB countries • ToT for police on gender based violence in Bulgaria (Norway programmes/Equality Division) • ToT for prison staff in Bulgaria (Justice capacity Building/Norway grants) • Training for school teachers on inclusive education (Czech Republic) • Training for equality bodies and NHRIs

12. Roma women and girls’ empowerment and gender mainstreaming • Follow-up to the 4th International Romani women’s conference from Helsinki, Finland, September 2013 • Expert meeting of Romani women, 17 February 2014, Strasbourg • Revision of the Helsinki Conference report and the Phenjalipe Strategy for the Advancement of Romani women and girls 2014-2020 • Roundtable on Romani women’s political participation at national and local level, 24 February 2014, Chisinau (OHCHR, UN Women, OSCE-ODIHR, Government of the Rep. of Moldova) • Phenjalipe and ERTF paper on Making early marriages in Roma communities a global concern, CAHROM May 2014 • CAHROM Thematic visit/Conclusions on Roma women empowerment and the gender dimension of Roma inclusion policies and strategies, 3-6 June 2014, Vilnius, Lithuania (Lithuania, Finland, Italy, Rep of Moldova, Spain) • International seminar on mainstreaming gender in the national Roma strategies, 24-25 November 2014, Kiev, Ukraine (Phenjalipe, Ukrainian Government)

13. Activities Romani women and girls in 2015 • Follow-up to the International seminar on mainstreaming gender in the national Roma strategies, from 24-25 November 2014, Kiev • Seminar on early/child marriage in Roma communities, Strasbourg • CAHROM thematic visit on gender equality with a focus on early/child marriage, Romania, March/April 2015 • 5th International Conference of Romani women, September 2015, Skopje

14. Youth empowerment • United for Dignity. Conference on the specific situation of Roma young people affected by multiple discrimination, with a focus on Roma youth LGBT, women and migrants, 24-26 June 2014 (Youth department, SOGI and the ST of the SRSG for Roma Issues) • Support to the Roma Youth Action Plan • CoE Youth Department Study: Barabaripen: Young Roma speak about multiple discrimination • CAHROM Thematic visit on Roma youth, 2015 (Slovenia, Belgium, Croatia, Luxembourg, Slovakia)

15. Ongoing challenges • Resources: human (including Roma expertise within the CoE) and financial (limited budget + voluntary contributions – mainly from Finland) • Short-term contracts/temporary staff vs permanent/CDD • Transversality/mainstreaming of Roma issues in the CoE • Subsidiarity vs limited powers of the CoE • Achieving long-term impact within human rights work