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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Improving rights of Roma one of preconditions for democratisation of society

Sofia/Belgrade, 2 February 2005

Addressing the participants in an international meeting called "Decade of Roma Inclusion", which is being held in Sofia, Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said that the Serbian government is preparing all measures necessary for the promotion of position of the Roma national minority, as one of preconditions for the democratisation of society.

Vojislav Kostunica

The official web site of the Serbian government brings the full speech of Prime Minister Kostunica:

"Today the Balkan countries are on a difficult path of stabilisation of their state systems and are trying to reconcile their societies with European Union standards. In that process, one of the most important issues is the problem of human, and especially, minority rights. Unfortunately, in our country, in the light of many inherited unsolved issues, the minorities have been perceived, treated and used as a problem and a source of internal instability for a long time.

We hope that today, except in individual cases, the awareness is being developed that national minorities should become the bridges of cooperation between the countries in the region, and that their presence and participation in the social and cultural life of Balkan countries should be a source of richness and cultural diversity. The development of multi-culturalism is not only a precondition set by the EU, it is also the reality and a value whose promotion is in our mutual interest.

In this context the position of the Roma community presents one of the most important issues, not only in this region. As a people of the Diaspora, the Roma were victims of huge pogroms and mistreatment. This is why the recently focused attention of the international community on their position is more than justified. I am very glad to take part in the launch of the 'Decade of Roma Inclusion' and to briefly present specific measures and actions, which our country has undertaken in order to promote the rights of Roma. Aware that much still remains to be done, I am proud that in the last few years we did the following:

Our country adopted the Law on the Protection of Rights and Freedoms of National Minorities in 2002 in order to protect our minority communities and improve and support the rights envisaged by this law. The law grants the Roma the status of a national minority, and the state is obligated to take necessary measures to fully implement the equality of the Roma.

In order to develop Roma rights, in December 2002 the Ministry of Human and Minority Right drew up a draft Strategy for integration and awarding new rights to Roma.

The next step of the Ministry was the founding of a Secretariat for the Roma National Strategy, in charge of implementing a public debate on the draft strategy, the final version of the document, coordination of special action plans and their implementation.

The National Council of the Roma National Minority, which represents the Roma community in the fields of education, culture, media and official use of language, and which represent our concept of the cultural autonomy, adopted its strategy for integration and giving new authorisations on April 6, 2004.

The Serbian government’s poverty reduction strategy addresses the issues of reducing the poverty of the Roma population.

During 2004, the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights coordinated the preparation of individual action plans in priority fields of the ‘Decade of Roma Inclusion’ – education, employment, residence, and health care.

The action plans for four priority fields were prepared by working groups whose members were appointed by line ministries, the National Council of the Roma National Minority, the Serbian National Minority Council, the Delegation of Young Roma Leaders, certain international and intergovernmental organisations and agencies, as well as experts from certain institutions, such as the Institute for Urban Planning in Belgrade and social work centres.

Actions plans in the area of education, employment, housing and health care were completed in January 2005 and approved by the appropriate ministries.

Unfortunately, I should point out that members of the Roma community together with their Serb neighbours were victims of great ethnic cleansing which occurred during 1999, after the arrival of international forces to Kosovo-Metohija. Their basic human rights are massively violated in Kosovo-Metohija, and the majority of them still cannot return to the areas they fled.

This is why action plans for social protection, culture, media and information, participation in the political life of the country, the specific position of internally displaced persons, returnees and women, also envisaged by the Strategy, are expected by the end of March this year.

Bearing in mind that improvement of Roma rights is one of the basic preconditions for democratization of society, the Serbian government is dedicated to preparing and implementing all measures necessary for achieving this goal.

Finally, I am glad to say that our country is one of the few, which has exceptionally promoted Roma art through popular culture as part of our multi-cultural identity.

I would only mention the films directed by Kusturica, or music composed by Bregovic, Boban Markovic or Saban Bajramovic.

Allow me to express hope that similar initiatives in neighbouring countries and regional cooperation will contribute to the improvement of the social position of the Roma,” Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said in his address.