Ministers Deputies

CM Documents
CM(2010)133 final 20 October 2010
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Council of Europe High Level Meeting on Roma
Strasbourg, 20 October 2010
!he Strasbourg "eclaration on Roma#
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$1% Roma
1
in man& parts of Europe continue to be sociall& an' economicall&
marginalise', (hich un'ermines the respect of their human rights, impe'es their
full participation in societ& an' effective e)ercise of civic responsibilities, an'
propagates pre*u'ice+
$2% ,n& effective response to this situation (ill have to combine social an'
economic inclusion in societ& an' the effective protection of human rights+ !he
process must be embrace' an' supporte' b& societ& as a (hole+ , genuine an'
effective participation of our fello( Europeans of Roma origin is a precon'ition for
success+

$-% .hile the primar& responsibilit& for promoting inclusion lies (ith the member
states of (hich Roma are nationals or long/term legal resi'ents, recent
'evelopments concerning Roma in Europe have 'emonstrate' that some of the
challenges (e face have cross/bor'er implications an' therefore re0uire a pan/
European response+
$1% ,s situations 'iffer from countr& to countr&, the role of international
organisations shoul' be first an' foremost to support an' assist the efforts
carrie' out at national, regional an' especiall& local level+
$2% 3ase' on these consi'erations the member states of the Council of Europe
have a'opte' the follo(ing Strasbourg Declaration4
$5% Reaffirming that all human beings are born free an' e0ual in 'ignit& an'
rights6
$7% Reaffirming their attachment to human 'ignit& an' the protection of human
rights for all persons6

$8% Recalling the fun'amental values, norms an' stan'ar's of 'emocrac&, human
rights an' the rule of la(, (hich are share' b& the Council of Europe member
states an' (hich must gui'e action at all levels6
$9% Confirming their commitment to promote social inclusion an' create the
con'itions for an effective e)ercise of civic rights an' responsibilities b& ever&
in'ivi'ual6

$10% Recalling that active participation of the Roma is crucial for achieving their
social inclusion an' encouraging them to participate in a''ressing the problems
of, inter alia, relativel& lo( rates of e'ucation an' emplo&ment6
$11% Bearing in min' that the process of inclusion of Roma contributes to social
cohesion, 'emocratic stabilit& an' to the acceptance of 'iversit&6
$12% Recalling that in the e)ercise of his:her rights an' free'oms ever&one must
respect the national legislation an' the rights of others6

$1-% Condemning une0uivocall& racism, stigmatisation an' hate speech 'irecte'
against Roma, particularl& in public an' political 'iscourse6

$11% Recalling the obligations of States ;arties un'er all relevant Council of
Europe legal instruments (hich the& have ratifie', in particular the European
Convention on Human Rights an' the ;rotocols thereto, an', (here applicable,
the European Social Charter an' the <rame(or= Convention for the ;rotection of
>ational Minorities an' the European Charter for Regional or Minorit&
Languages6
$12% Recommending that State Parties ta=e full& into account the relevant
*u'gments of the European Court of Human Rights an' relevant 'ecisions of the
European Committee of Social Rights, in 'eveloping their policies on Roma6
$15% Recalling their commitment to the principles of tolerance an' non/
'iscrimination, as e)presse' in the statute of European Commission against
Racism an' ?ntolerance $ECR?%6
$17% Drawing on the initiatives, activities an' programmes alrea'& 'evelope' an'
con'ucte' b& member states aime' at the full inclusion of Roma6
$18% !he member states of the Council of Europe agree on the follo(ing non/
e)haustive list of priorities, (hich shoul' serve as gui'ance for more focuse' an'
more consistent efforts at all levels, inclu'ing through active participation of
Roma4

Non-discrimination and citizenship
Non-discrimination
$19% ,'opt an' effectivel& implement anti/'iscrimination legislation,
inclu'ing in the fiel' of emplo&ment, access to *ustice, the provision of
goo's an' services, inclu'ing access to housing an' =e& public services,
such as health care an' e'ucation+
Criminal legislation
$20% ,'opt an' effectivel& implement criminal legislation against raciall&
motivate' crime+
Citizenship
$21% !a=e effective measures to avoi' statelessness in accor'ance (ith
'omestic la( an' polic& an' to grant Roma legall& resi'ing in their
national territor& access to i'entification papers+
Womens rights and gender equalit
$22% ;ut in place effective measures to respect, protect an' promote
gen'er e0ualit& of Roma girls an' (omen (ithin their communities an' in
the societ& as a (hole+
$2-% ;ut in place effective measures to abolish (here still in use harmful
practices against Roma (omen@s repro'uctive rights, primaril& force'
sterilisation+
Childrens rights
$21% ;romote through effective measures the e0ual treatment an' the
rights of Roma chil'ren especiall& the right to e'ucation an' protect them
against violence, inclu'ing se)ual abuse an' labour e)ploitation, in
accor'ance (ith international treaties+
!mpowerment
$22% ;romote effective participation of Roma in social, political an' civic life,
inclu'ing active participation of representatives of Roma in 'ecision/
ma=ing mechanisms affecting them, an' co/operation (ith in'epen'ent
authorities such as Ombu'smen in the fiel' of human rights protection+
"ccess to #ustice
$25% Ensure e0ual an' effective access to the *ustice s&stem, inclu'ing
(here appropriate through affor'able legal ai' services+
$27% Ensure timel& an' effective investigations an' 'ue legal process in
cases of allege' racial violence or other offences against Roma+
$28% ;rovi'e appropriate an' targete' training to *u'icial an' police
services+

Com$at traffic%ing
$29% 3earing in min' that Roma chil'ren an' (omen are often victims of
traffic=ing an' e)ploitation, 'evote a'e0uate attention an' resources to
combat these phenomena, (ithin the general efforts aime' at curbing
traffic=ing of human beings an' organise' crime, an', in appropriate
cases, issue victims (ith resi'ence permits+
&ighting stigmatisation and hate speech
$-0% Strengthen efforts in combating hate speech+ Encourage the me'ia to
'eal responsibl& an' fairl& (ith the issue of Roma an' refrain from
negative stereot&ping or stigmatisation+
$-1% Remin' public authorities at national, regional an' local levels of their
special responsibilit& to refrain from statements, in particular to the me'ia,
(hich ma& be reasonabl& un'erstoo' as hate speech, or as speech li=el&
to pro'uce the effect of legitimising, sprea'ing or promoting racial hatre',
)enophobia, or other forms of 'iscrimination or hatre' base' on
intolerance+
$-2% Consi'er *oining the campaign of the Council of Europe an' the
European Commission "ostaA Bo be&on' pre*u'ice, 'iscover the RomaA#
an' enhance activities in this frame(or=+

Social inclusion
!ducation
$--% Ensure effective an' e0ual access to the mainstream e'ucational
s&stem, inclu'ing pre/school e'ucation, for Roma chil'ren an' metho's to
secure atten'ance, inclu'ing, for instance, b& ma=ing use of school
assistants an' me'iators+ ;rovi'e, (here appropriate, in service training
of teachers an' e'ucational staff+
!mploment
$-1% Ensure e0ual access of Roma to emplo&ment an' vocational training
in accor'ance (ith international an' 'omestic la(, inclu'ing, (hen
appropriate, b& using me'iators in emplo&ment offices+ ;rovi'e Roma, as
appropriate, (ith possibilities to vali'ate their s=ills an' competences
ac0uire' in informal settings+
'ealth Care
$-2% Ensure e0ual access of all Roma to the healthcare s&stem, for
instance, b& using health me'iators an' provi'ing training for e)isting
facilitators+
'ousing
$-5% !a=e appropriate measures to improve the living con'itions of Roma+
$-7% Ensure e0ual access to housing an' accommo'ation services for
Roma+

$-8% ;rovi'e for appropriate an' reasonable notice an' effective access to
*u'icial reme'& in cases of eviction, (hile ensuring the full respect of the
principle of the rule of la(+
$-9% ?n consultation (ith all concerne' an' in accor'ance (ith the 'omestic
legislation an' polic&, provi'e appropriate accommo'ation for noma'ic
an' semi/noma'ic Roma+
Culture and language
$10% .here appropriate, ta=e measures to foster =no(le'ge of the culture,
histor& an' languages of Roma an' un'erstan'ing thereof+
(nternational cooperation
$11% Ensure focuse', sustaine' an' effective co/operation regar'ing
Roma, at the pan/European level, bet(een member states,
regions, local authorities an' European organisations, 'ra(ing on
the man& e)amples of goo' practice (hich e)ist at European,
national, regional an' local levels+ ?n particular, encourage co/
operation (ith the European Cnion, inclu'ing through *oint
programmes such as the intercultural cities, as (ell as the OSCE6
$12% Ensure close cooperation (ith Roma communities at all levels, pan/
European, national, regional an' local, in the implementation of these
commitments6
$1-% Recognising the nee' to contribute to the implementation of these priorities
through the use of goo' practices, e)pertise an' available financial resources
(hich e)ist at European, national, regional an' local level, the member states of
the Council of Europe4
- $11% (elcome the 'ecision of the Secretar& Beneral to re/organise
resources in a transversal manner (ithin the Council of Europe Secretariat
(ith the tas= of further 'eveloping co/operation (ith national, regional an'
local authorities an' international organisations in collecting, anal&sing,
e)changing an' 'isseminating information on policies an' goo' practice
on Roma, provi'ing a'vice an' support upon the re0uest of national,
regional an' local authorities as (ell as practical assistance in the
implementation of ne( polic& initiatives, especiall& at the local level, an'
provi'ing access to training, capacit&/buil'ing an' e'ucational material6
- $12% encourage close co/operation (ith member states, other Council of
Europe institutions, other international organisations, especiall& the
European Cnion an' the OSCE, as (ell as civil societ&, inclu'ing Roma
associations an' relevant non/governmental organisations, in or'er that
its (or= complements rather than 'uplicates that of other bo'ies6

/ $15% agree to set up a European !raining ;rogramme for Roma Me'iators
(ith the aim to streamline, co'if& an' consoli'ate the e)isting training
programmes for an' about Me'iators for Roma, through the most effective
use of e)isting Council of Europe resources, stan'ar's, metho'olog&,
net(or=s an' infrastructure, notabl& the European Douth Centres in
Strasbourg an' 3u'apest, in close co/operation (ith national an' local
authorities6
- $17% encourage member states to use a coor'inate', inter/agenc&
approach to 'ealing (ith issues (hich affect Roma6
- $18% ta=e note of the list of goo' practices elaborate' b& the Secretar&
Beneral, entitle' Strasbourg ?nitiatives# for (hich he calls for support+
!his open catalogue of pro*ects having an imme'iate an' measurable
impact coul' serve as a catal&st for future action6
- $19% invite the Secretar& Beneral of the Council of Europe to present a
first progress report on the implementation of the Strasbourg "eclaration#
to the Council of Europe Ministerial Session in ?stanbul in Ma& 2011+
Note
1
The term !oma use" throughout the #resent te$t refers to !oma% Sinti% &ale%
Tra'ellers% an" relate" grou#s in (uro#e% an" aims to co'er the )i"e "i'ersit*
of grou#s concerne"% inclu"ing grou#s )hich i"entif* themsel'es as +*#sies,