OSCE Skopje Mission supports opening of first police office in Roma-majority municipality Shuto Orizari
(OSCE/Maria Dotsenko)Citizens in the mainly Roma-populated municipality of Shuto Orizari will benefit from the first police office opened in the area, 21 February 2007. (OSCE/Maria Dotsenko) Photo details
SKOPJE, 21 February 2007 - With the financial help of the United Kingdom Embassy and support of the OSCE Mission, the first police office in the mainly Roma-populated municipality of Shuto Orizari opened its doors today.
The opening of the new office, which will be staffed by an ethnically mixed police team, forms part of a joint initiative by the country's Interior Ministry and the Shuto Orizari municipality.
"For several years, the international community concentrated its efforts on the development of policies to promote Roma and Sinti integration into mainstream communities. The opening of this police office will not only increase the efficiency of the police work in the municipality, it will also strengthen the confidence between the police and the Roma community," said Pierre Chassagne, Acting Head of the OSCE Mission's Police Development Unit.
Erdogan Iseni, mayor of Shuto Orizari, underlined how highly appreciated the international support was: "This event is of great importance for us. The citizens of our municipality can only benefit from the new police office, since police services will be brought closer to the community."
The initiative also helps with the implementation of the Organization's "Action Plan on Improving the Situation of Roma and Sinti within the OSCE Area", which mentions policing in Roma communities as a specific concern.
As other OSCE participating States, the country is implementing its own National Action Plan on the Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005-2015.
The opening of the new office, which will be staffed by an ethnically mixed police team, forms part of a joint initiative by the country's Interior Ministry and the Shuto Orizari municipality.
"For several years, the international community concentrated its efforts on the development of policies to promote Roma and Sinti integration into mainstream communities. The opening of this police office will not only increase the efficiency of the police work in the municipality, it will also strengthen the confidence between the police and the Roma community," said Pierre Chassagne, Acting Head of the OSCE Mission's Police Development Unit.
Erdogan Iseni, mayor of Shuto Orizari, underlined how highly appreciated the international support was: "This event is of great importance for us. The citizens of our municipality can only benefit from the new police office, since police services will be brought closer to the community."
The initiative also helps with the implementation of the Organization's "Action Plan on Improving the Situation of Roma and Sinti within the OSCE Area", which mentions policing in Roma communities as a specific concern.
As other OSCE participating States, the country is implementing its own National Action Plan on the Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005-2015.