OSCE Mission Head calls for better integration of Kosovo Roma community

PRISHTINË/PRIŠTINA, 8 April 2015 – “The Kosovo Roma community remains on the margins of the society, therefore more needs to be done to ensure their full social inclusion,” Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, Ambassador Jean-Claude Schlumberger, said today on the occasion of International Roma Day.

“Members of the Roma community, along with the Ashkali and Egyptian communities, still suffer various forms of discrimination. They face challenges in accessing education, healthcare services, housing and employment. This situation needs to change,” said Schlumberger.

“The current strategy and action plan for the integration of these most vulnerable communities will expire in 2015,” Schlumberger said, urging the Kosovo government to ensure an inclusive process when drafting the new policy framework for the integration of these communities.

Representatives of the civil society and of the communities themselves need to be heard in order to offer adequate responses to their needs and concerns, he added.

“Increased commitment by both central and local level institutions and the allocation of more funds are crucial to taking this process forward,” he said, noting that twelve municipalities have developed local action plans with the support of the OSCE.

“These plans include concrete actions to integrate Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptian communities. With the appropriate support from the central level, municipalities will be able to significantly improve the living conditions of these communities,” concluded Schlumberger.