Consultation meeting on romà issues take place in Varsaw


    04.05.2001 / As part of the series of regular consultations with Roma NGOs and experts, the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) Contact Point for Roma and Sinti Issues organized a consultation and information meeting in Warsaw with the participation of representatives of the two leading international Roma organizations, elected Roma representatives, officials from international organizations, and independent experts on Roma and Sinti issues.
   Principal areas of discussion included the situation in Kosovo, the need to enhace the co-operation between Roma organizations, and the implementation of the ODIHR programmes on Roma for 2001.
   It was acknowledged that the two leading Roma associations, the Intenrnation Romani Union and the Roma National Congress, have managed to build a good working relationship in quite a short time and as a result have also reached understanding on some essential issues, including the assessment of the present situation in Kosovo and the proposed Consultative Group for the Contact Point. However, there is still room for improvement. Participants also advanced the opinion that Roma should be more active in taking on responsability and raising  their voice on behalf of other Roma living in difficult conditions.

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