Conferentie Raad van Europa in Tirana over rechten van Roma (en)
Strasbourg, 11.09.2006 - Progress to assure Roma rights in Albania will be under the microscope in a conference in Tirana, with wide Albanian government participation – as part of “Equal Rights and Treatment for Roma”, a Council of Europe/European Commission project for Roma in South Eastern Europe.
Albanian Labour and Social Affairs Minister Koco Barka will open proceedings at the Hotel Mondial in Tirana on September 18, and officials from the education, health, public works and culture ministries are expected to give feedback and assessment reports on measures undertaken so far to promote the human rights of Albania’s Roma – a target group for racism.
The conference, which will last until September 20, will also highlight a first-ever training initiative to improve monitoring and evaluation in actions taken to raise awareness of Roma culture and combat prejudices. The Roma – estimated as 80,000 to 100,000 out of Albania’s 3.6 million population – are officially recognized as a linguistic minority.
Throughout the conference, Council of Europe personnel will be on hand to explain the intricacies of the joint programme, with a focus on “Dosta!”, an awareness-raising campaign on Roma to be carried out in Albania in 2006/2007. Dosta is a Romani word meaning “enough,” and the programme’s broader goal is to end prejudice by bringing non-Roma closer to Roma citizens to achieve equal rights and treatment for Roma in South Eastern Europe.
Roma are European citizens. They form a group of about 10 million people and can be found in almost all Council of Europe member states. In some Central and Eastern European countries, they represent over 5% of the population.
A press conference is scheduled on Monday, September 18, from 10:30-11:00 a.m. at the Hotel Mondial in Tirana.
Further information, background on the Web: the Council of Europe’s Roma and Travellers Division (http://www.coe.int/romatravellers) and the Dosta! Campaign (http://www.dosta.org )
Council of Europe Press Division
Tel: +33 (0)3 88 41 25 60
Fax:+33 (0)3 88 41 39 11