22/09/2023
FSG Igualdad y No Discriminación
The factsheet covers in detail all aspects of social, economic and political life where acts of antigypsyism and situations of discrimination, including structural antigypsyism, occur.
The Secretariat of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) of the Council of Europe has just published a factsheet entitled "Preventing and combating antigypsyism and discrimination against Roma and Travellers".
It aims to present ECRI’s key recommendations on preventing and combating antigypsyism and discrimination against Roma and Travellers, based ECRI’s country reports to many Council of Europe countries in the monitoring cycles during the period ranging from 2013 to 2023.
The factsheet covers in detail all aspects of social, economic and political life where acts of antigypsyism and situations of discrimination, including structural antigypsyism, occur, illustrating these cases with examples taken from the monitoring cycles mentioned, in its sections referring to the Roma People, and providing concrete recommendations to solve each of these problems.
The text is divided into six general sections; in the Policy Framework and Data Collection chapter, it provides recommendations on ethnic data collection, how to develop national strategies and action plans or programmes, ideas for the design and funding of these plans, and guidance on implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
The chapter on Prevention deals with how to improve social awareness of antigypsyism, the role of the media, the promotion of inclusive education, capacity building and support for municipalities, the role of Roma mediators, and the empowerment of Roma representatives and organisations, and civil society organisations promoting equality for Roma.
The chapter on Protection and support deals with education, housing, employment and health care. On education, it gives recommendations on improving school attendance, prohibiting unjustified placement of Roma children in special schools, and prohibiting school segregation. On housing, it analyses the right of access to decent housing, the prohibition of segregation in housing, and how to provide appropriate safeguards in connection with evictions. On employment and health care, it looks at cases of antigypsyism in these two areas, and how to prevent them.
The report ends with three important sections: the responsibility of public figures and the media in countering hate speech, the prosecution and law enforcement (combatting hate crime against Roma), and how to prevent and combat antigypsyism and discrimination against Roma by law enforcement officials.
Although the document cites numerous countries, Spain is only mentioned on one occasion: ECRI's fifth monitoring cycle of Spain is cited, with regard to the high rate of under-reporting of cases; it is recommended to improve the relationship with the police, and the designation of contact persons in the prosecutors' offices in this area, something on which much progress has been made since that cycle took place (2017-2018).
At Fundación Secretariado Gitano we particularly value this document, as it provides valuable guidelines and concrete measures in the fight against antigypsyism that are coherent with our work and our mission, and which can be transferred to general national and regional policies regarding the improvement of the rights and living conditions of Roma people.
