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Press release - 770(2010)
European governments act to help Roma
Strasbourg, 20.10.2010 – Representatives of the 47 Council of Europe countries,
the EU and the Roma community gathering in Strasbourg today unanimously
condemned widespread discrimination against Roma and their social and economic
marginalisation.
Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland, who called the meeting
following concerns about Roma rights during the summer, said "the time for
action has come. Today we have made a fresh start to actually helping the Roma
population of Europe. Roma are fellow Europeans".
Member states agreed to a joint effort and pan-European response to meet the
needs of the estimated 12 million Roma living in Europe.
The “Strasbourg Declaration” includes guiding principles and priorities:
a) Non-discrimination, citizenship, women's and childrens rights.
b) Social inclusion including education, housing and healthcare.
c) Empowerment and better access to justice.
It also foresees the creation of a new European training programme for more
than a thousand Roma mediators, who will give legal and administrative advice
to communities. Some 440 Roma mediators will be trained in 2011; the figure
could rise to over 1000 in the following years, depending on the available
resources. The Council of Europe plans to train some 100 lawyers in 2011. Roma
mediators and lawyers will work to tackle access to housing, schools, health
and jobs, and to link the Roma communities and civil society.
Efforts will build on the expertise of the Council of Europe to develop
relevant co-operation with national, regional and local authorities and
international organisations.
Council of Europe Directorate of Communication
Tel: +33 (0)3 88 41 25 60
Fax:+33 (0)3 88 41 39 11 <mailto:pressu...@coe.int>
pressu...@coe.int
<http://www.coe.int/> www.coe.int
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