OSCE Mission to Skopje supports efforts to address discrimination of Roma at border-crossing points

SKOPJE, 14 October 2015 – An OSCE-supported conference took place in Skopje today with the aim of compiling recommendations on how to address the discrimination of Roma at national border crossing points, who are often restricted in their freedom of movement under the pretext that they are potential asylum seekers.

The event was organized by the Office of the Ombudsman and the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights, and supported by the OSCE Mission to Skopje.

“We encourage the authorities to ensure the equal treatment of all as provided in the Constitution, including at border crossings,” the Head of the OSCE Mission to Skopje Nina Suomalainen said. “The principle of non-discrimination should be respected.”

The Ombudsman Ixhet Memeti said: “The authorities must do everything in their power so that not a single citizen feels discriminated against, because discrimination is a painful phenomenon, which creates feelings of exclusion of a community, particularly in a multi-ethnic and multicultural society founded on diversity.”

“The Committee does not consider the issue of Roma at border crossing points merely in terms of the violation of free movement but also in terms of racial profiling,” said National Executive Director of the Helsinki Committee Uranija Pirovska.

“All cases reported to us have showed that Roma people are removed from buses based on the colour of their skin or based on their name and surname, which determines their ethnic background. Therefore, we cannot speak only of individual cases but of discrimination against the whole ethnic community.”

The Mission works to comprehensively build the capacity of the Ombudsman and the Anti-discrimination Commission in promoting tolerance by focusing on developing legal tools for their effective functioning.