Strasbourg, 10 December 2012CAHROM (2012)21

 

 

AD HOC COMMITTEE OF EXPERTS ON ROMA ISSUES

(CAHROM)

 

4th meeting

Strasbourg, Council of Europe

28-30 November 2012

 

 

ABRIDGED MEETING REPORT

 

 

  1.                 The Ad hoc Committee of Experts on Roma Issues (CAHROM) held its 4th meeting in Strasbourg on 28-30 November 2012. The agenda, as adopted, appears in Appendix 1.

 

Recent developments

 

  1.                 The Committee took note of the information provided by the Secretariat, the representative of the European Commission (DG Justice) and the Croatian presidency of the Decade for Roma Inclusion, as well as by the Chair on her participation in the Ministerial Conference on Social Cohesion (Istanbul, Turkey, 11-12 October 2012). It also heard an oral report by the ROMED Secretariat on recent developments, which was followed by expressions of interest in the ROMED programme from Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Switzerland.

 

  1.                 The Committee particularly welcomed the presence of DG Justice from the European Commission in the CAHROM and took note of information DG Justice provided on the EU’s work on Roma integration.

 

  1.                 The President of the European Roma and Travellers Forum (ERTF) reported orally on recent activities and the ERTF reform and asked whether the CAHROM members could provide the Forum with their comments on the ERTF Charter on the Rights of Roma.

 

  1.                 The Committee agreed to provide the Secretariat with any comments they may have on the ERTF Charter by the end of February 2013 in view of a discussion to be held on that subject at its next meeting.

 

  1.                 The Secretariat gave a presentation on the Council of Europe database on Roma-related policies and good practices, including information on how the CAHROM, as well as local and regional authorities, international organisations and NGOs, could provide content, register as experts, and make use of it. A list of 41 good practices introduced so far in the database has been circulated to participants.

 

 

Direction and priorities of the CAHROM’s work

 

  1.                 The Polish expert presented a paper on the work of the CAHROM. She said that the working methods of the CAHROM, including thematic working groups and visits, had increased the focus on substantive work, exchange of good practices and sharing of experiences on policy implementation, and so provided the basis for even more relevant action. She went on to say that it is important to consider why European and national policies have so far not led to results as satisfactory as one would wish. The paper raises five main issues concerning the general approach underpinning Roma policies. The Polish contribution gave rise to a wide-ranging discussion. It received support from some CAHROM members, whilst others and some observers had concerns about some of the ideas expressed in the paper.

 

  1.                 The Committee agreed that this discussion should be continued at its next meeting. CAHROM participants were invited to send their written comments on the Polish paper to the Secretariat by the end of February 2013.

 

Thematic group on issues relevant for nomadic Roma and Travellers

 

  1.                 The CAHROM Secretariat briefly introduced the document CAHROM(2012)20 prov which includes replies received to a restricted recipients’ questionnaire on nomadic Roma and Travellers, with a view to help identifying thematic issues of common interest. The countries concerned welcomed the setting-up of a CAHROM thematic group focusing on the specificities of these communities.

 

  1.             The Belgian expert confirmed that Belgium was interested in being a requesting country for such a thematic group and proposed hosting a visit to her country in February 2013. The main focus of the thematic report will be on halting sites (provision of sites and infrastructure, dealing with unauthorised sites, recognition of caravans as a home, relations between travelling communities and the settled population, etc.). The countries involved would also consider including other issues such as access to health, education and other services. The thematic group will be composed of experts from Belgium, France, Switzerland and United Kingdom. Other countries such as Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands and Norway may contribute, wherever possible, to certain chapters of the thematic report at a later stage.

 

Proposals for other thematic groups

 

  1.             The Committee took note of several proposals for future thematic groups, including:

 

- one or two thematic groups on housing related issues for which several countries have expressed interest, including Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Greece, Serbia, Slovakia, «the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia» and Turkey depending on the main issues addressed in the thematic group. As regards the specific focus of such thematic groups, social housing, legalisation of houses/settlements, self-(re)construction, prevention of evictions, security of tenure, loans for housing have been proposed.

The Committee tasked the Secretariat and the Bureau with setting up one and possibly two thematic groups and identify possible requesting and partner countries for each sub-theme with a view to possibly organise a thematic visit before the next CAHROM plenary meeting.

 

- the recognition of the Romani language under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages and the teaching of Roma language, history and culture at school. Croatia might be a requesting country, whilst Slovakia offered its expertise. The Committee agreed to explore the possibility to establish such a thematic group with other countries having ratified the Language Charter at the next meeting following an exchange of views with the Secretariat of the European Charter for Minority or Regional Languages in order to have a better overview of the various variants of the Romani language spoken in member states, their recognition, and the degree of protection of Romani under the Charter.

 

  1.             In the field of education, the topic of compulsory pre-school education was raised. The Committee agreed that a questionnaire will be circulated to CAHROM members to collect information about national situations. The replies to this questionnaire, as well as conclusions and recommendations of existing studies at international level (CoE, OSCE-ODIHR, UNESCO, UNICEF, etc.) will be presented at the next CAHROM meeting. Depending on the results of this discussion, a thematic group on this specific topic may be set up.

 

  1.             Further proposals were made which are more relevant for an exchange of experience at the regional and local levels and could be included in the future thematic programme of the European Alliance of Cities and Regions for Roma inclusion, i.e.:

 

Action of the Council of Europe against trafficking of human beings and its relevance to the terms of reference of the CAHROM

 

  1.             Referring to the thematic report on school drop-out and absenteeism of Roma children [see CAHROM (2012)6], the Dutch expert said that in the Netherlands, the early marriage of Roma girls results in their dropping out of school early, and, could, in certain cases when families live in different countries, feed international trafficking. At the end of his presentation, he proposed that a meeting be organised with a small number of participants which would include representatives of relevant Council of Europe bodies, CAHROM members and national representatives from institutions like the police, public prosecution, youth care and health services.

 

  1.             The Committee took note of the presentation by the Secretariat of GRETA on the Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings and its monitoring mechanism. The lively debate that followed the presentation addressed in particular the role and influence that cultural traditions might play (participants having different opinions on this matter) and the opportunity to address forced and under-age marriage, as well as begging in a discussion about trafficking of human beings. Whilst underlining the necessity to protect children and young girls, some participants pointed to the risk of a purely culture-based approach of these issues, as they are often fuelled by prejudice.

 

  1.             Following the discussion, it was agreed that the Dutch proposal to set up a small scale working group would be further discussed in the light of the results of the GRETA Conference to be held in Sofia, Bulgaria, on 4-5 December 2012 that will be attended by the Dutch expert on behalf of the CAHROM. Among the messages that the CAHROM would like to pass on to participants of the Conference and its Workshop on Roma as a vulnerable group are: the importance of raising awareness and understanding of Roma communities among relevant public agencies; the importance of involving Roma themselves in tackling trafficking issues within their communities; the importance of raising awareness among Roma of their rights so they are better placed to protect themselves from exploitation; and the need to avoid generalisations and stereotyping of whole communities.

 

Thematic report on social housing for Roma (with “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” as requesting country and Bosnia-and Herzegovina, Croatia and Spain as partner countries)

 

  1.             Following a summary presentation about the framework of the thematic visit and the main conclusions of the thematic report from the perspective of the requesting and partner countries, the Committee endorsed the thematic report of the team of experts [document CAHROM (2012)8, see Addendum 1 to the present document] and decided to send it to the Committee of Ministers for information, also drawing its attention to information on follow-up initiatives [document CAHROM (2012)23] available on the CAHROM’s public website.

 

  1.             Additional reference texts or publications provided by CAHROM participants will be introduced in the Addendum to the thematic report which will be publicly available on the CAHROM website in the original language. The deadline for submitting contributions is 10 January 2013.

 

Thematic report on inclusive education of Roma children as opposed to special schools (with the Czech Republic and Slovakia as requesting countries and Hungary, Slovenia and United Kingdom as partner countries)

 

  1.             Following a summary presentation about the framework of the thematic visit and the main conclusions of the thematic report from the perspective of the requesting and partner countries, the Committee endorsed the thematic report of the team of experts [document CAHROM(2012)18, see Addendum 2 to the present document] and decided to send it to the Committee of Ministers for information, also drawing its attention to information on follow-up initiatives [document CAHROM(2012)23] available on the CAHROM’s public website.

 

  1.             During the discussion of this topic, the CAHROM noted that ending segregation of Roma children is not just a policy option but also a legal obligation of member states under the European Convention on Human Rights and relevant ECtHR case-law.

 

  1.             Additional reference texts and information provided by CAHROM participants will be introduced in the Addendum to the thematic report which will be publicly available on the CAHROM website in the original language. The deadline for submitting contributions is 10 January 2013.

 

Bilateral cooperation in the field of Roma migrants

 

  1.             The Committee heard presentations from the Migration Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly and from the Migration Co-ordination Unit. The Committee also heard presentations from the Municipality of Strasbourg about initiatives to integrate a number of Romanian Roma families and from France and Romania about their on-going bilateral cooperation regarding Roma migrants.

 

  1.             The PACE representative welcomed the fact that the CAHROM had taken up several of the issues raised by PACE Recommendation 2003 (2012) on its agenda, such as Roma migrants, asylum seekers and freedom to leave one’s own country. On the latter point, the CAHROM expressed its readiness to cooperate with relevant Council of Europe bodies should a more in-depth study be undertaken within the Council of Europe.

 

  1.             The experts from France and Romania were invited by the Committee to provide written information about their projects and initiatives and to update the CAHROM on their bilateral cooperation, whilst other countries were requested to provide written information about any bilateral cooperation in the field of Roma migration with a view to pursuing the discussion on this topic at the next meeting.

 

School drop out and absenteeism of Roma children, in particular girls

 

  1.             The Committee held a preliminary discussion on this topic following the visit to Finland (requesting country) of a team of experts from Latvia, Norway and Sweden. Participants exchanged views on the preliminary findings of the CAHROM thematic group of experts whose final report will be presented at the next CAHROM meeting. Following a suggestion made by Germany, the countries concerned by this thematic report agreed to change the title of the thematic report into “school attendance of Roma children, with a specific focus on Roma girls”.

 

  1.             The Dutch expert reported back about follow-up received from municipalities of Nieuwegein and Veldhoven following a visit of a CAHROM thematic group of experts from Hungary, Spain and Sweden in February 2012 [see the thematic report – document CAHROM (2012)6 - and follow up in requesting and partner countries – document CAHROM (2012)23].

 

Roma youth and children

 

  1.             The Committee took note of information presented by the Secretariat of the Council of Europe project “Building a Europe for and with Children” and Strategy for the Rights of the Child (2012-2015). The Committee agreed to include on the agenda of its next meeting a presentation on the Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse and the work of the Lanzarote Committee in that respect.

 

  1.             The Committee took note of recent developments regarding the Roma Youth Action Plan and of the action of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe in that regard, in particular through its report on the situation of Roma youth.

 

  1.             The Committee also took note of the invitation from the representative of the Council of Europe Advisory Council on Youth to send a CAHROM representative to the next meeting of the Informal Contact group on the Roma Youth Action Plan to be held in Strasbourg on 7-8 December 2012.

 

  1.             The Committee appointed the Dutch and Serbian Committee members to have special responsibility for mainstreaming youth issues in the work of the CAHROM.

 

  1.             The Committee adopted an Opinion on the draft CM Recommendation (2012)XX on access to social rights for young people from disadvantaged neighbourhoods and decided to send it to the Committee of Ministers and to relevant youth bodies. The CAHROM Opinion appears in Appendix 2.

 

Role of local and regional authorities

 

  1.             The Committee heard presentations from the Head of Department II of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe and from the Congress Rapporteur on Roma and Travellers on recent developments concerning the European Alliance of Cities and Regions for Roma Inclusion. It took note that discussions were under way with the European Commission on a joint project for the Alliance and that two activities of the Alliance will be organised on 17 December 2012, one in Madrid on social housing for Roma, and the other in Budapest on inclusive education.

 

  1.             The Committee welcomed these recent developments considering that an exchange of experience and good practices at the local and regional levels is necessary. Some CAHROM members suggested to introduce trans-border cooperation in the management of cross-border activities of Roma among the future activities of the Alliance (see also paragraph 13 above).

 

Election of the Bureau (Chair, Vice-Chair, Bureau member)

 

  1.             The Committee proceeded with the election of its Bureau. Mr. Ian Naysmith (United Kingdom) was elected as Chair, Mr. Nicolae RadiĊ£a (Republic of Moldova) as Vice-Chair and Mr. Ján Hero (Slovak Republic) as third Bureau member. The new Bureau will take office as from 1 January 2013 for one calendar year.

 

  1.             A meeting of the Bureau will be scheduled by the end of January 2013 with a view to setting up new thematic groups and discussing the agenda of the 5th CAHROM meeting.

 

Exchange with the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe

 

  1.             The Committee held an exchange with the Commissioner for Human Rights who referred to his recent Human Rights Comments addressing school segregation and evictions. He also informed participants about his recent visits to the Czech Republic and to «the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia» highlighting the serious issue of school segregation in both countries. As regards the latter, the Commissioner also expressed concern about allegations of ethnic profiling by authorities which reportedly prevent many Roma from leaving the country under the visa-free travel regime in the Schengen area instituted three years ago. In that respect he recalled that certain measures may run counter to certain international standards, such as freedom to leave one’s country and the right to seek asylum, and result in another layer of discrimination against the Roma minority. The Commissioner invited the Committee to address measures for combatting anti-Gypsyism within national Roma integration strategies and, wherever possible, in the context of its thematic work.

 

Roma women

 

  1.             The Committee took note of presentations made by the Secretariat on recent developments in this field at the level of the Council of Europe, as well as on the results of the OSCE-ODIHR human dimension meeting which focused this year on Roma and Sinti women related issues. It also took note of the presentation by the Finnish expert about the background, purpose and framework the 4th International Roma Women’s Conference that will be hosted by Finland in Helsinki on 16-17 September 2013.

 

  1.             The Committee agreed that the Secretariat would circulate to CAHROM members, on behalf of the Finnish organisers, a request for background information on respective national situation of Roma women early next year. CAHROM members and/or national focal points on gender equality would be asked to possibly assist and facilitate the preparation of this background paper by national Roma women’s organisations. The results and conclusions of the Conference will be presented for discussion at the 6th CAHROM meeting in Italy in late October 2013.

 

  1.             The Committee, whilst underlining that it already pays great attention to Roma women and girls in its work (see for example its thematic reports and its draft opinions and recommendations), postponed the appointment of the CAHROM member who will have special responsibility for mainstreaming gender issues in its work.

 

  1.             The Committee proposed to keep this item on its agenda and to include a presentation on the Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence at its next meeting.

 

Developments concerning the Dosta! campaign

 

  1.             The Committee heard a presentation from the Italian expert about recent developments concerning the Dosta! campaign in Italy. Lithuania confirmed a launch of Dosta! in 2013.

 

  1.             The results of the joint FRA/UNDP survey “Key challenges faced by Roma today” related to the level of knowledge of the Dosta! campaign in 12 member states were distributed to the countries concerned.

 

Dates and venue of the next CAHROM meetings

 

  1.             The CAHROM fixed the dates and venue of its meetings in 2013. The fifth meeting will take place in Strasbourg on 14-16 May 2013, whilst the sixth meeting will be hosted by Italy in Rome on 28-31 October 2013.

 

  1.             The Committee took note of the proposal of Bosnia and Herzegovina to host a CAHROM meeting in spring 2014 under its presidency of the Decade for Roma Inclusion, provided that the Terms of Reference of the CAHROM are being renewed by the Committee of Ministers. The Slovenian expert indicated that Slovenia is also considering hosting a future CAHROM meeting.

 

Agenda items to be included in the next meeting

 

  1.             The Committee decided to include the following items in the agenda of its next meeting:

 

 

Abridged report

 

  1.             In order to allow all Committee members to have time to consider the draft abridged report, the Chair exceptionally proposed to have it adopted by written procedure.


Appendix 1

 

 

AD HOC COMMITTEE OF EXPERTS ON ROMA ISSUES

(CAHROM)

 

____________

 

MEETING AGENDA

 

 

Strasbourg, 28 November 2012

 

  1. Opening of the 4th CAHROM meeting and adoption of the agenda

 

  1. Recent developments

 

  1. Working priorities and future thematic groups

 

  1. Action of the Council of Europe against trafficking of human beings and its relevance to the terms of reference of the CAHROM

 

  1. Thematic exchange of experience on social housing for Roma

 

Strasbourg, 29 November 2012

 

  1. Thematic exchange of experience on inclusive education of Roma children vs. school segregation

 

  1. Asylum , migration & freedom of movement

 

Strasbourg, 30 November 2012

 

  1. Thematic exchange of experience on school drop-out/absenteeism of Roma children, girls in particular, and issues related to Roma youth and children

 

  1. Role of local and regional authorities

 

  1. Election of the Bureau

 

  1. Exchange of views with the CoE Commissioner for Human Rights

 

  1. Roma women

 

  1. Developments concerning the Dosta! campaign

 

  1. Dates and venue of CAHROM meetings in 2013 and agenda items to be included on the agenda of the next meeting

 

  1. Adoption of the abridged report


Appendix 2

 

 

AD HOC COMMITTEE OF EXPERTS ON ROMA ISSUES

(CAHROM)

 

____________

 

OPINION OF THE CAHROM

CONCERNING THE DRAFT CM RECOMMENDATION (2012)XX

ON ACCESS TO SOCIAL RIGHTS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE FROM DISADVANTAGED NEIGHBOURHOODS

 

as adopted by the CAHROM at its 4th meeting in Strasbourg (28-30 November 2012)

 

____________

 

Opinion of the Ad hoc Committee of Experts on Roma Issues (CAHROM) on the draft Committee of Ministers Recommendation (2012)XX on access to social rights for young people from disadvantaged neighbourhoods

 

 

  1. The CAHROM welcomes the joint initiative of the European Steering Committee for Youth, the Advisory Council on Youth and the Joint Council of Youth to draft a CM Recommendation on access to social rights for young people from disadvantaged neighbourhoods which gives in various parts of the text particular attention to the increased risk of vulnerability of young Roma.

 

  1. The CAHROM wishes to recall that it attaches great importance to the challenges facing Roma youth, and particularly to the special situation of Roma girls, who face multiple barriers in accessing their social rights. Roma youth issues are indeed regularly addressed on the agenda of the CAHROM[1]. In addition, observer status in the CAHROM was granted to the Forum of European Roma Young People (FERYP), one of the international members of the European Roma and Travellers Forum (ERTF).

 

  1. The CAHROM notes that the rich acquis of Roma-related Committee of Ministers’ Recommendations and the Roma Youth Action Plan have not been yet mentioned in the text of the draft Recommendation and proposes that these pertinent texts are duly reflected in the revised draft Recommendation[2].

 

  1. The CAHROM considers that a revised text of the draft Recommendation should take up two important cross-cutting points:

 

 

  1. As concerns education and training, the CAHROM draws attention to the fact that disadvantaged neighbourhoods may also include Roma and Traveller youth who have a nomadic way of life, are engaged in temporary migration, or are refugees or asylum seekers; therefore, their particular situation should be reflected in education policy measures designed to ensure full access to schools. The CAHROM also wishes to underline the need for education policies to end segregation in schools and promote inclusive education and for careful monitoring of the results of educational policies, involving all stakeholders in the formal and non-formal education (school authorities, teachers, parents, non-governmental organisations). In addition, the CAHROM considers that, where appropriate, curriculum, textbooks and other support materials should promote intercultural dialogue and raise awareness on stereotypes, prejudices and discrimination in general, and those against Roma in particular.

 

  1. As regards employment, the CAHROM considers that the draft Recommendation should encourage more strongly governments to promote equal opportunities for Roma young people, in particular Roma girls, to enter the labour market and to gain access to income-generating and self-employment activities.

 

  1. As regards housing, the CAHROM draws attention to the fact that, within the Roma communities living in disadvantaged neighbourhoods, there are young single mothers, girls who married early, and women victims of domestic violence and underlines the need for housing policies to take into account their urgent specific needs, in consultation with Roma youth and women’s organisations.

 

  1. Whilst appreciating the opportunity given to provide its comments on the draft Recommendation, the CAHROM would find it preferable to be consulted at an earlier stage by sister committees drafting documents of relevance to its field of competence. The CAHROM is ready to offer its assistance to the further drafting of this recommendation if needed.

 

[1] Under its new thematic working methods, the CAHROM has devoted particular attention to the educational situation of Roma pupils and students, notably in its thematic reports on school drop-out and absenteeism of Roma children [CAHROM (2012)6] and on inclusive education for Roma children as opposed to special schools [CAHROM (2012)18].

[2] The CM Roma-related Recommendations and the Roma Youth Action Plan are accessible on the Roma portal of the Council of Europe (www.coe.int/roma).

[3] In that context, reference can be made to CM/Rec (2012)9 on mediation as an effective tool for promoting respect for human rights and social inclusion of Roma.