EU fights discrimination against Roma people and promotes their inclusion in the key areas of education, employment, health and housing. The Council adopted a recommendation on Roma equality, inclusion and participation. The Recommendation also reflects the needs of specific groups and the diversity of the Roma population. It replaces the December 2013 Council recommendation on effective Roma people integration measures and has an expanded scope, including measures to:
- fight online and offline discrimination (including harassment, antigypsyism, stereotyping, anti-Roma rhetoric and hate speech)
- combat multiple and structural discrimination against Roma people, in particular women, children, LGBTI persons and persons with disabilities
- promote multi-cultural awareness-raising activities and campaigns in schools.
Equal participation of Roma people in society
The recommendation highlights the importance of the equal participation of Roma people in society and of their role in policy-making. It outlines a comprehensive list of suggested measures in key areas ranging from access to education, the labour market and health to promoting active participation in civil society and partnerships. It also seeks to improve target setting, data collection, monitoring and reporting and to make mainstream policies more sensitive to Roma equality and inclusion. Moreover, the Recommendation highlights the importance of the gender perspective.
In most European societies, Roma young people have a hard time in asserting their rights and affirming their identity and ethnic belonging. Other problems faced by Roma and Traveller communities are reflected in young Roma and Travellers’ transition to adulthood, namely poverty, exclusion and lack of opportunities within and outside the community, as well as difficulties in accessing their human rights.
This situation puts specific groups of young Roma people and Travellers at a serious risk of multiple discrimination. The Council of Europe action in this area aims at double mainstreaming youth-related matters in all policies dealing with Roma and Travellers issues on the one hand and Roma and Travellers issues in youth policies on the other hand. The Roma and Travellers Team also contributes to the Council of Europe Roma Youth Action Plan implemented by the Youth Department and has started addressing the situation of young Roma and Traveller LGBTI and the mainstreaming of their concerns in international LGBTI movements in close cooperation with the Youth Department and the SOGI Unit.
Anti-Gypsyism – Discrimination against Roma people
According to the recommendation, member states should adopt national Roma strategic frameworks within their broader social inclusion policies improving the situation of Roma people, and communicate them to the European Commission, preferably by September 2021. Member states are also encouraged to include and promote rights of and equal opportunities for Roma in their national Recovery and Resilience plans.
Roma Youth Action Plan
The Roma Youth Action Plan is a response of the Council of Europe to challenges faced by Roma young people in Europe, particularly in relation to their empowerment, participation in policy decision-making processes and structures at European level, and multiple realities of discrimination.
The Roma Youth Action Plan gives priority to human rights and intercultural dialogue as responses to discrimination and antigypsyism, together with the development and capacity building of Roma youth organisations and movements. Training and capacity building has, thus, an important role in the Roma Youth Action Plan, not only because of what individual Roma youth leaders may learn and develop individually, but also and especially by what they will experience and do together.
