OSCE roundtable discussion calls for improved policies of inclusion for Kosovo Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities

New policies for the inclusion of Kosovo Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities should be developed together with community representatives, contain clear objectives and measurable indicators, and have necessary funding, said participants of an OSCE roundtable discussion held in Prishtinë/Priština on 5 November 2015.

The event gathered representatives of the Prime Minister’s Office for Good Governance; the Inter-Institutional Steering Committee for Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptian communities; civil society; and international organizations who discussed gaps in the implementation of the Action Plan of the Strategy for Integration of Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptian communities in Kosovo (2009–2015). They also shared the lessons learned ahead of the preparations for post-2015 policies..

“Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities remain the most marginalized and this situation needs to change. To do so, an immediate and systematic approach by central and local level institutions should be adopted to address these communities’ specific needs in order to provide them with equal access to rights and services, such as education, healthcare, housing and employment,” said Nikola Petrovski, Senior Communities Adviser at the OSCE Mission in Kosovo. “The policies should be for these communities, with these communities.”

The event was organized upon the request of the civil society platform, established in 2013, which gathers seven non-government organizations working on the inclusion of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities.

The OSCE Mission in Kosovo is mandated with the protection and promotion of human rights, democratization, and public safety sector development.