Report: Discrimination and exclusion are fundamental features of the Roma experience

THE HAGUE, 7 April 2000 - The OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, Max van der Stoel, today issued a "Report on the Situation of Roma and Sinti in the OSCE Area." The report addresses one of Europe's most pressing minority-related issues: the plight of its Roma communities.

In his introduction, the High Commissioner notes that "ten years after the Iron Curtain fell, Europe is at risk of being divided by new walls. Front and center among those persons being left outside Europe's new security and prosperity are the Roma." He concludes that "discrimination and exclusion are fundamental features of the Roma experience."

The 170-page report (prepared throughout 1999) addresses the main problems faced by Europe's Roma population and provides recommendations on how these can be overcome. The issues addressed include discrimination and racial violence, education, living conditions and political participation.

The report also provides an overview of OSCE commitments and initiatives relating to the Roma and Sinti and recommendations on the enhancement of the mandate of the OSCE Contact Point for Roma and Sinti Issues. The report takes a thematic approach but also cites concrete situations and policies in those OSCE participating States with sizeable Roma communities.

Copies of the report are available from the OSCE Secretariat or the office of the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities.

CONTACT: Walter Kemp, Senior Advisor, OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, The Hague, The Netherlands, tel.: 31-70-3125506, fax: 31-70-3635910, e-mail: wkemp@hcnm.org