Addressing ongoing issues with access to healthcare and housing for Roma and Sinti communities was the focus of a discussion organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) on 11 October in Warsaw, during which ODIHR presented new tools to help OSCE countries tackle these challenges.
The two publications, Guidelines for Activists Addressing Roma and Sinti Evictions and Guidelines for Activists Addressing Access to Health Care and Vaccination for Roma and Sinti, were launched at the margins of the Warsaw Human Dimension Conference. Representatives of OSCE states, Roma and Sinti experts and activists, and civil society took part in the event.
"Roma and Sinti communities continue to experience inequalities in accessing healthcare services, and often face stereotyping by healthcare workers and even segregation," said Daniel Radulescu from Sastipen - Roma Centre for Health Policies, a Romanian civil society organization. "The ODIHR guidelines are a valuable tool for civil society and activists in addressing some of these issues."
Vivien Brassói, Legal Director of the European Roma Rights Centre, highlighted ongoing cases of strategic litigation in view of forced evictions in several European countries.
"Evictions are a recurring reality for many Roma and Sinti communities, which is a persisting issue many have yet to acknowledge," she said "Practical, step-by-step guidance on how to tackle cases of eviction is very important in this regard."
Tea Jaliashvili, ODIHR First Deputy Director, encouraged civil society as well as public institutions and academia to make use of the ODIHR publications.
"We hope these tools will help improve the challenging situation of Roma and Sinti communities and ensure their right to have a home where they feel safe and to receive quality medical care," she said.
ODIHR is mandated to assist OSCE states in implementing their commitments related to Roma and Sinti, in line with the 2003 OSCE Action Plan on Improving the Situation of Roma and Sinti and subsequent OSCE Ministerial Council decisions. The Action Plan commits its signatories to ensuring non-discriminatory access to healthcare for Roma and Sinti and inclusive housing policies free of segregation, and provides recommendations on how to achieve these goals. ODIHR is preparing to publish a report on the implementation of the Action Plan before the end of the year.
