Congratulating International Roma Day, in his opening address, Committee Chairman Meho Omerovic said that, in order to improve the status of the Roma population, the Republic of Serbia had joined the international programme Decade of Roma Inclusion in 2005, drafted a national strategy of Roma inclusion with a special focus on healthcare reform, instigated affirmative action for the enrolment of Roma in elementary schools and endorsed the scholarship system for Roma students. Despite it all, the position of Roma remains difficult with education, employment, housing, registration of children in the birth registry books, child labour and early marriage as the key problems, not to mention that the mortality of Roma children is double the national average, concluded Omerovic.
Suzana Paunovic, Director of the Office for Human and Minority Rights of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, outlined the Government’s recent activities in the area, highlighting the strengthening of institutional capacities and the active work of the Government’s Council for the Improvement of the Position of Roma. The Government also set up a body to monitor and coordinate donations.
Michael Davenport, Head of the EU Delegation in Serbia, said that Europe is home to between 10 and 12 million Roma who are the minority suffering the biggest discrimination. Their key problems are education, employment, healthcare and housing, said Davenport. Areas that require additional efforts are the education of Roma children, and the EU delegation offers legal assistance in the registering of children in the birth registry books and social protection. Michael Davenport added that the delegation is cooperating with the City of Belgrade in the efforts to solve the problem of families living in unhygienic conditions and offering assistance to the Roma population as regards employment.
The assembly was also addressed by the Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia H.E. Ambassador Peter Burkhard, Head of the UN Women Office in Serbia Asya Varbanova, Slavica Vasic on the behalf of the Roma women’s network and the President of the National Council of the Roma National Minority Vitomir Mihajlovic.
Vitomir Mihajlovic said that more than 30,000 Roma left Serbia in the previous period to look for economic asylum in EU countries and seek basic living conditions. He drew attention to the fact that a great many Roma children do not complete elementary education, as well as the high rate of unemployment among the Roma. He appealed that the Roma national minority should take part in the drafting of strategic documents since the Roma, as a population group, have plenty adequate human resources to do so.
He also asked Serbia to tackle the problems of the Roma national community responsibly, stressing that there are no Roma in leadership positions in the local self-governments, or at the level of town and republic governance.
The participants of the sitting then proceeded to discuss Roma women’s issues, inclusion of Roma in the field of housing 2014/15 and employment 2014/15.
On the occasion, the Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Michael Davenport and the Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia Peter Burkhard presented 10 computers to the best Roma students.

The sitting was chaired by Committee Chairman Meho Omerovic.