OSCE to address controversial issue of Roma refugees and asylum seekers
WARSAW, 11 October 2000 - Every year, thousands of Roma, also known as Gypsies, from East Central and South Eastern Europe leave their homes and seek asylum, mostly in countries of Western Europe and North America. To seek ways to address the root causes of this migration movement in the countries of origin, to review the asylum policies of the "receiving" states, and to improve international co-operation on Roma policy making, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) will bring together Roma experts and government representatives on 23 October 2000 in Warsaw.
"The issue of Roma refugees and asylum seekers affects many OSCE States, either in their role as countries of origin or as destination countries", said ODIHR Director Gérard Stoudmann, the head of the main OSCE institution dealing with Roma issues. "The OSCE with its broad membership is very well suited to bring together the different actors involved and to assist governments in developing national policies on Roma."
There is broad consensus that the current "asylum crisis" is a result of the worsening situation of Roma in their home countries, characterized by increased violence and discrimination combined with difficult economic conditions and tight restrictions on legal migration. However, other related issues are highly controversial, such as the policies implemented by some governments in response to Romani asylum seeking, or the question as to what extend Roma themselves are responsible for their predicament.
The meeting, which takes place at the margins of the annual OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting, will be addressed by some of the most prominent Roma officials and activists, including Nicolae Gheorghe, ODIHR Adviser on Roma and Sinti Issues, Rudko Kawczynski, President of the Roma National Congress, Dr. Emil Scuka, President of the International Romani Union, and Andrej Mirga, Chair of the Project on Ethnic Relations Romani Advisory Council and Co-Chair of the Council of Europe Specialist Group on Roma/ Gypsies. The meeting is organized in co-operation with the Council of Europe, the UNHCR, and the Project on Ethnic Relations.
A detailed agenda is available on the ODIHR web site at www.osce.org/odihr. The whole meeting, starting at 9:00, will be open to the press. Requests for interviews with participants should be addressed to the OSCE/ODIHR Public Affairs Unit.
The venue for the meeting is the Centrum Konferencyjne MON, Zwirki i Wigury 9/13, 09-909 Warsaw, Poland.
For further information contact Mr. Jens-Hagen Eschenbächer, OSCE/ODIHR Public Affairs Officer, at +48-22-5200600-4162 or +48-603683122 (mobile).