OSCE Mission to Serbia promotes research on Roma perceptions of security sector

A new study supported by the OSCE Mission to Serbia on the major security concerns of the Roma community in Serbia in the light of security sector reform was presented from 9-13 June 2014 in Kragujevac, Belgrade, and Nis.

The study, Roma women and men and security sector reform, also contains recommendations for policies and measures to be undertaken by the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Defence to respond to specific security threats facing the Roma population in Serbia.

The presentations were organized by the OSCE Mission to Serbia and its implementing partner, the Public Policy Research Centre.

“One of the most fundamental functions of the state is to provide security for its citizens,” said Karin Wagner, Governance Adviser at the OSCE Mission to Serbia’s Democratization Department. “Security sector reform works to make relevant institutions more accountable; civil society plays a vital role in this process. The study addresses the security sector reform in Serbia from a very specific angle that is from the position of the Roma population and I hope it will be useful for policy-makers.”

Svetlana Djurdjevic Lukic, President of the Public Policy Research Centre, emphasized that “the aim of the study was to contribute to improving security of Roma population in Serbia and to complement existing measures envisaged by the Action Plan for the implementation of the Strategy for improving the situation of Roma.”  

The presentations gathered approximately 50 participants, including representatives of the Ministry of Interior, local self-governments, civil society organizations and journalists.