Tim za socijalno uključivanje i smanjenje siromaštva

Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of the Republic of Serbia and Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Zorana Mihajlović announced the Ministry will manage the Geographic Information System (GIS) for substandard Roma settlements in Serbia.

Mihajlović, opening the conference “Geographic Information System (GIS) for Substandard Roma Settlements in Serbia: Mapping, Improvement and Perspectives”, explained that the system contains a database with the results of the mapping of 583 substandard Roma settlements across Serbia.

She announced the start of activities this year on the implementation of various projects based on the system, to be managed from now by the Housing Department within the Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure. During the coming period, she added, work will be done regarding numerous issues, including the construction of sewers and road infrastructure in Roma settlements.

The ministry will also update the GIS database, she said and noted that for the first time the state has data on Roma settlements and is obliged to take care of all its citizens, and vulnerable groups in particular, one of those being the Roma.

Mihajlović reminded that this is the final year of the Roma Decade, but that despite this Roma are still not integrated in society nearly anywhere in Europe, as well as that solutions should be sought in economic sustainability and their education. According to her, Pirot should be an example for other towns and municipalities in Serbia, since 99% of the Roma population there have completed school, over 70% have secondary education, and approximately 30% of them opts for higher education.

The head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia Peter Burkhard noted that the GIS is an important point in the efforts of Serbia to improve the lives of the Roma population, and confirmed that the OSCE Mission will continue assisting our country in those efforts.

The head of the first Operations Sector of the European Union Delegation to Serbia, Yolanda San Jose, stated that improving the lives of the Roma population is an important area in the process of European integration of Serbia, indicating that our country takes the negotiation chapter regarding human rights seriously.

European support for Roma inclusion is a 4.8 million euro project, financed by the EU and implemented by the OSCE Mission to Serbia. The project provides support to Serbian institutions in improving the status of Roma in access to basic rights, civic participation, labour market, education, healthcare, social protection, adequate housing and creation. The key project partners are the Office for Human and Minority Rights, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veterans and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, the Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure, the Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities, the Praxis NGO, the Roma Education Fund, the European Integration Office and the Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction Unit.

Source: www.srbija.gov.rs