9th CAHROM Meeting, 27 to 30 May 2015, Strasbourg
On 27 May 2015 the 9th Meeting of the Ad-Hoc Committee of Experts on Roma Issues (CAHROM) will start in Strasbourg, where over 120 participants confirmed attendance, including national experts from 41 member States, different CoE bodies, and representatives from EU Institutions, International Governmental and Non-Governmental Organisations.
On that occasion, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe will address the inter-governmental committee dealing with Roma issues to exchange with its members his proposed agenda and priorities for Roma inclusion for the years 2015-2019, including the initiative of the Open Society Foundations to establish a European Roma Institute (ERI) that he personally support.
Other highlights of these three-day meeting include inclusive pre-school education for Roma children, the inclusion of the Romani history teaching in national school curricula, the legalisation of Roma informal settlements, how to address and combat human trafficking within Roma communities (with a focus on street children and prostitution), how to promote gender equality within Roma communities (with a focus on early and/or forced marriages), Roma women and youth empowerment, the inclusion of gender and youth dimensions of national Roma integration policies/strategies, indicators to assess the progress in the implementation of these policies/strategies, the role of the media in combating anti-Gypsyism, developments concerning the Dosta! campaign aimed at combating stereotypes and prejudice towards Roma, mutual contracts between families and local authorities for integration measures at municipal level, future thematic priorities of the Committee, as well as the reintroduction of “Travellers” alongside “Roma” in the terminology used by the Committee and the Council of Europe as a whole.
Several side events will take place during this CAHROM session: a coordination meeting between the Council of Europe, EU institutions and other international organisations (OSCE-ODIHR, IOM, UN bodies, World Bank, CEB) initiated by the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Roma Issues; a meeting jointly organised by the European Commission DG NEAR and the Council of Europe with EU enlargement countries on their Roma policy and a reception offered by Open Society Foundations (OSF) to informally discuss the proposal of setting up a European Roma Institute and present an OSF-sponsored Roma exhibition. The CAHROM meeting will be also an occasion for the Council of Europe and the European Commission to discuss the implementation of their joint programmes ROMED and ROMACT.
The abridged report of the meeting will be published after the event on the official page of the CAHROM: http://hub.coe.int/cahrom1
