Tim za socijalno uključivanje i smanjenje siromaštva

On July 19, Suzana Paunović, the director of the Office for Human and Minority Rights of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, stated that the establishment of the coordination meetings mechanism provided significant support to the process of improving the status of Roma persons in Serbia.

During the third coordination meeting on projects designed for the Roma inclusion, Ms Paunović explained that this mechanism included regular exchanges of information on planned and realised activities. That way, she added, all relevant project beneficiaries, donors and implementation teams contributed to the efficient use of resources.

The mechanism of coordination meetings was jointly established by the European Integration Office, Social Inclusions and Poverty Reduction Unit, and the Office for Human and Minority Rights, she added.

Ms Paunović noted that by adopting the Strategy for the Social Inclusion of the Roma until 2025, the Government showed commitment to the continuity of efforts in the field of protection and improvement of the status of the Roma population. She added that, since 2013, Serbian Government and the European Commission had been regularly organising seminars dedicated to the social inclusion of the Roma population, and monitoring the progress of their inclusion. Moreover, she said that Serbia had been sending reports on the implementation of conclusions from the seminars to the European Commission on a regular basis.

The Office for Human and Minority Rights and the Social Inclusions and Poverty Reduction Unit are providing support with the monitoring of the implementation of operational conclusions, as well as with the preparation of annual reports on the realisation of the Strategy and its Action plan. The implementation of these conclusions directly influences the improvement of the quality of life of Roma citizens within the fields of healthcare, education, housing, employment and social protection.

The meeting was attended by the members of all major projects dedicated to the improvement of the status of the Roma community and their beneficiaries, the representatives of relevant ministries, services and agencies. The participants of the meeting were the representatives of the City of Belgrade, Delegation of the European Union, OSCE Mission in Serbia, The United Nations Office for Project Services, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, UNICEF, EPTISA and others.

Source: www.srbija.gov.rs