29 March 2011
European Roma and Travellers Forum Plenary Assembly
30 March - 1 April 2011, Strasbourg
John WARMISHAM, Congress Thematic Rapporteur on Roma/Travellers
Mr President,
Secretary General
Excellencies
Ladies and Gentlemen
On behalf of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, I should like to thank you for the invitation to take the floor today in the opening session of the plenary assembly of the European Roma and Travellers Forum. Today, I’m speaking to you in my role as Congress Thematic Rapporteur on Roma/Travellers. The Congress decided such a rapporteur was necessary in view of the growing concern about what is happening to Roma communities and the anti-Gypsyism which is on the rise across Europe, not only from citizens but also in the discourse of elected representatives.
I have been following the Council of Europe’s Roma related activities for some time now, and I am delighted that the Congress has joined the momentum created by Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland when he called for a high level meeting last October to address the issue of Roma integration. The Secretary General launched his action at a time when major political figures in Council of Europe member states drew attention to the increasing discrimination and hate speech directed against the Roma population by policies which could only perpetuate these negative feelings. But it is not only at national level that politicians are giving voice to discriminatory declarations: last month, 60 or so mayors in the Czech Republic adopted a declaration about measures, widely seen as targeting the Roma population, which qualified them as “socially inadaptable”. I can but echo the statement made by Congress President, Keith Whitmore earlier this month and say that this sort of declaration runs counter to integration efforts and such an attitude cannot be tolerated by the Congress.
Last week, during its 20th session, the Congress decided to examine more closely the situation of Roma, and in particular to address the challenges posed to local and regional authorities in working towards Roma integration. In countries across Europe, national strategies and policies have been drafted to address the situation of Roma and to promote their integration, however it is at the local level where services are actually delivered and where action can be adapted to suit the local situation, which will be different from one town, even one neighbourhood to the next. It is at the local and regional level that these policies and action are most effective and can be most efficiently implemented. It is also at this level where citizens have easiest access to policy makers as well as to their rights. As such, local authorities have a key role to play in Roma integration and they must increase their efforts to implement local policy initiatives which support Roma.
However, these policies and initiatives do not always work. Sometimes we do not always get the results we expected. Sometimes, our policies are just outright failures. As Congress Rapporteur on Roma/Travellers, I have been charged with researching not only what local and regional authorities can do to promote Roma integration but more importantly what they are doing, what is working and what is not. I will bring together my research and conclusions in a report and will make recommendations to local and regional authorities, but also to national governments, not only on the type of policies we should be implementing but also the way they should be implemented.
When the idea of setting up your forum to represent Roma communities in Europe was first aired in the nineties, it was the Roma themselves who started thinking of a body that would help them express their concerns. In the words of Tarja Halonen, President of Finland, your Forum was to “give a voice to the Roma”. The Congress is a strong believer in the concept of participation: we have a Convention on the Participation of Foreigners in Public Life at Local Level; a European Charter on the Participation of Young People in Local and Regional Life. We have created these instruments because we know that, in the words of an African proverb, “the one wearing the shoes knows exactly where they hurt”. In other words, the people themselves are best placed to know what they want and what they need. I am a local councillor in a district of the town of Salford in the north of England. We have a school which welcomes all children, be they of Roma origin or pure, born-and-bred Salford like myself. In a neighbouring borough of another town, it was decided one school should open its doors to Roma children. But what happened? The other parents took their children out of the school. So what went wrong in that other town? What did we do right in Salford? What we did right is that we talked to and worked with representatives of all of the communities in our district because we realise that people have different needs and different goals. In Salford, wherever possible, we actively encourage the participation of all to develop strong and positive relationships between people from different backgrounds and promote meaningful dialogue and understanding between communities. In this way, we remove the barriers that limit what people can do and be, and we create an equal society.
This is why I am today appealing to you for your help in the research I am to do for my report. We know that promoting the integration of Roma and thus achieving a cohesive society means improving Roma access to social rights such as education, decent housing, adequate healthcare and employment. But only you, who represent Roma citizens in the member states, can tell us, local and regional elected representatives, exactly what your needs and concerns are and what format these policies must take to be successful. You can come together with the indigenous populations of our towns and cities and help us to devise policies that will suit everyone’s needs. This must be a two-way street.
We need your assistance to help us build a legal and political cooperation framework within which all stakeholders participate on an equal footing and where common values can be negotiated and agreed upon. It is only in this way, once citizens feel they are equal and have equal access to their rights, that a greater understanding is achieved between all members of a community, from all backgrounds. Only in this way can stereotypes be broken down, can citizens better engage in dialogue based on respect, and a more harmonious and comfortable environment be created. My contact details are on the Congress’ website - let’s work together on this.
The Congress is also working on a pan-European cooperation platform which will bring together mayors and representatives of city networks who are actively addressing the situation of Roma and who wish to join forces to co-operate and exchange good practices on the social and economic inclusion of Roma and Travellers with other authorities across Europe. Last week, I urged Congress members to get involved in these activities and to send a message that intolerance towards and discrimination against Roma are not acceptable. I am sure I can also count on your cooperation in these efforts too.
Mr President, Secretary General, excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your attention.