Ending discrimination against Roma children
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Assembly
debate on 23 April 2013 (13th Sitting) (see Doc. 13158, report of the Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination,
rapporteur: Ms Memecan). Text adopted
by the Assembly on 23 April 2013 (13th Sitting).
1. Discrimination against Roma in
Europe is widespread and affects members of this community already at
a very young age. It takes a variety of forms, including lack of
adequate prenatal and infant health care, statelessness, child poverty,
inadequate housing conditions, unequal access to education and an
increased risk of being subjected to bullying, violence and trafficking.
2. Efforts aimed at addressing this state of affairs are all
the more urgent when one considers that around 50% of the Roma population
in Europe, which corresponds to about 5 to 6 million people, is
under 18 years of age. These efforts should be aimed at improving
the material living conditions of Roma families through investment
in housing, sanitation and job creation, and at changing stereotyped
and discriminatory attitudes towards Roma. The ultimate objective
should be ensuring that Roma children are given the same opportunities as
any other children, and supporting their ability to make decisions
freely about their future.
3. If Roma are given equal opportunities during their childhood,
as adults they will be in a position to contribute to the workforce
and economic activity in Europe as qualified professionals in various
fields. Being more integrated in society, they will act as bridges
to promote tolerance and diversity on the continent. They will engage
in political and social activism, playing a leading role in improving
the situation of the Roma and other disadvantaged communities in
Europe.
4. The Parliamentary Assembly underlines that discrimination
is a two-way process. To eradicate it, it is necessary to address
both sides of the equation. Those who are discriminated against
should be provided with opportunities and their self-confidence
should be improved by encouraging rhetoric and targeted policies.
At the same time, awareness-raising activities and opportunities
to engage with “others” should be put in place in order to develop
mutual understanding and tolerance.
5. Empowering Roma children and their families implies not only
working and supporting Roma, but working with them and creating
the conditions for community organisation and active participation
in the development of policies, including in the decision-making
process. Many non-governmental organisations (NGOs), both at international
and national level, work effectively on Roma issues and it is essential
that national governments co-operate with them to devise relevant
policies.
6. The Assembly refers to its
Recommendation 2003 (2012) on Roma
migrants in Europe and
Resolution 1740
(2010) on the situation of Roma in Europe and relevant
activities of the Council of Europe, and reiterates its call to
all Council of Europe member States to face up to their responsibilities
and tackle the issue of the situation of Roma in a serious and sustainable
manner.
7. The Assembly urges its member States to take concrete measures
to end discrimination against Roma children, and in particular to:
7.1 expand access to integrated
early childhood services by:
7.1.1 enabling easier registration
of births and issuing of birth certificates;
7.1.2 strengthening outreach services for young children and
families from isolated communities; addressing maternal health,
food security, child-rearing and the family environment, health
protection, responsibility for and care of new-born infants; sending
mobile health care units to visit Roma neighbourhoods and communities
for screening on dental care, childcare and reproductive health;
sending officials to inform Roma women about their rights, health
care services, and educational opportunities for their children;
7.1.3 helping poor Roma families to promote the growth and development
of their young children at home in a safe and stimulating physical
and psycho-social environment;
7.1.4 regularly informing the Roma communities about public
services such as health provision and educational opportunities,
by using the media, and especially television, for awareness raising;
7.1.5 training Roma mothers on childcare, health care and education
directly within their own communities or providing free transportation
to training centres where such training sessions can be organised;
7.2 make school more accessible by:
7.2.1 providing
at least two years of inclusive, mandatory and affordable high-quality preschool
education;
7.2.2 providing all teachers and professional trainers with
anti-discrimination training, information and materials;
7.2.3 preparing schools at all levels to welcome Roma children
and promote their development on an equal basis with other children;
by including intercultural values and diversity in the curriculum,
training the teachers to deal with a diverse group of children,
providing individual instruction adapted to children’s development
level, creating a democratic learning environment in which every
child feels the right to participate, and establishing a physically
and emotionally secure environment free from violence;
7.2.4 paying special attention to confidence building at an
early age by ensuring that Roma children are included in class work
and in extracurricular activities, are provided with classroom materials
if they do not have the means to purchase them, rewarding them for
positive behaviour and achievements, and encouraging them and their
parents to work on improving their talents;
7.2.5 adapting curricula to embrace inclusion as a core goal
of education, free of gender stereotypes;
7.2.6 including, where appropriate, the teaching of Roma culture
and history and, when necessary, providing support for Romani to
be taught as a second language;
7.2.7 introducing appropriately trained and paid Roma assistants
and mediators in classrooms and encouraging greater numbers of Roma
to become teachers;
7.2.8 ensuring that Roma children are taught the core curriculum
on an equal basis with other children;
7.2.9 investing in promoting parental literacy, especially of
the mother, to strengthen support for children’s education, and
conducting training programmes such as vocational or language training
for mothers to better equip them to become active members of society;
7.2.10 introducing measures to ensure that Roma girls are given
the same opportunities to receive formal education as Roma boys;
7.2.11 if necessary, providing transportation, clothing, food
and other basic necessities in order to facilitate integration and
acceptance of Roma children in classrooms;
7.2.12 providing after-school activities of interest to Roma
children and encouraging the students and their families to take
advantage of these activities to improve their talents, and providing
children with the necessary tools and training so that they can
participate in these activities;
7.3 end school segregation and promote inclusion by:
7.3.1 ensuring that all students start learning about equality,
respect and teamwork in their early years at school and that the
curriculum, as well as extracurricular activities, reinforce these values,
thus encouraging the students to learn from and appreciate each
other in order not to develop prejudices in the future;
7.3.2 executing, where appropriate, judgments of the European
Court of Human Rights relating to discrimination in the enjoyment
of the applicants' right to education due to their assignment to
special schools;
7.3.3 setting up comprehensive policies to implement a long-term
commitment to inclusive education that include national and local
action plans to promote inclusion, supported by financial, legal
and administrative measures and requiring local municipalities to
produce desegregation plans;
7.3.4 setting up awareness-raising campaigns to inform Roma
about their rights and responsibilities and introducing complaints
mechanisms for Roma families to challenge breaches of their right
to inclusion;
7.3.5 engaging Roma families in parental activities in schools,
for example as chaperones or members of parents’ associations;
7.3.6 familiarising teachers with Roma children, their culture
and identity during their training, in addition to designing teaching
methods that prevent discrimination and promote diversity; ensuring
that teachers are trained to overcome personal biases and prejudices;
7.4 remove the socio-economic barriers to education by:
7.4.1 introducing preparatory programmes and additional academic
support for Roma children to facilitate readiness for school, to
support the transitions from one educational level to the next and
to re-engage those who drop out of school;
7.4.2 providing scholarships and financial support for Roma
students to attend school; designing incentives and engaging the
private sector to offer scholarships to Roma children;
7.4.3 encouraging the promotion of role models for the Roma
communities including successful Roma students, businessmen and
artists; creating opportunities and designing events for them to
engage with the Roma communities to share experiences and serve
as a source of inspiration;
7.4.4 supporting internship programs for Roma in government
offices, or in the private sector during the summer, which will
facilitate their entry into the job market and inclusion in the
business world;
7.4.5 encouraging Roma students to take part in school trips,
in order to expose them to the outside world, by covering their
expenses if necessary;
7.5 protect Roma children’s right to respect for their personal
and physical integrity by:
7.5.1 ensuring that legal prohibition
of all forms of violence and manifestations of racism and anti-Gypsyism
in schools is effectively enforced;
7.5.2 promoting in Roma communities awareness of values and
standards relating to gender equality, non-discrimination and human
rights;
7.6 provide sufficient state financing to ensure the activities
mentioned in paragraphs 7.1 to 7.5 are effective and efficient.
8. The Assembly also believes that governmental measures to promote
good governance form the minimum foundation on which such specific
measures must be based to achieve maximum results. Member States
should therefore encourage initiatives to improve the accountability
and transparency of different levels of government and actors, to
enhance access to justice and the rule of law, to empower human
rights institutions, such as ombudspersons, and to better monitor
and address complaints from Roma children.
9. In order to address the root cause of discrimination, politicians
and public opinion leaders must act responsibly. They have an important
role to play in reversing stereotyping and discriminatory attitudes
towards Roma and in promoting a culture of diversity and respect
between different groups.
