ETHNIC ROMA ASK FOR EUROPEAN CHART AGAINST DISCRIMINATION

STRASBOURG - The communities of ethnic Roma and nomadic groups in Europe on November 8 asked for the drafting of a European Chart that guarantees a better protection against discrimination, the news agencies report.

The ethnic Roma minority is a frequent victim of discrimination in many states around Europe, as regards the access to education, medical services or labour places," said the president of the European Forum for Ethnic Roma and Nomadic Groups, Rudko Kawczynski.

During a seminar organized by the Council of Europe. Some 80 delegates throughout Europe decried the aggravated status of ethnic Roma in some countries in Eastern Europe, such as Slovakia or the Czech Republic. "Women fear forced sterilization, entire families are subject to forced shifting," Kawczynski said. The situation is even worse in Kosovo, where 20,000 ethnic Roma were evicted "right in front of the eyes of the members with the Peacekeeping Force, or KFOR," Kawczynski added. Some 14 million ethnic Roma are living in the 46 member states of the Council of Europe, only 1% of them representing nomadic groups.

The European Forum for Ethnic Roma and Nomadic Groups was established in 1991 and fights the alienation of the ethnic Roma communities, asking for "a better use of the EU's funds" targeting this minority.

The article is published with permission from Pesha Tshaya's Blog.

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