Romani leaders call for reform of the Agency for Social Inclusion in letter to Czech PM claiming the participation of Roma there is just a formality

According to the statement, crucial questions from the civil society representatives did not receive specific answers from the ASZ during that meeting, which sparked doubts about its ability to effectively address the problems of social exclusion. “The situation in the socially excluded localities continues to deteriorate and it is apparent that the current approach of the Agency for Social Inclusion is not enough,” Michal Miko, director of RomanoNet, an umbrella organization for pro-Roma and Romani NGOS, told news server Romea.cz.

“It is essential to launch an extensive discussion about the future of this institution and to involve all of the crucial stakeholders, including Romani leaders and nonprofit organizations,” Miko said. The statement recognizes some of the ASZ’s successes, such as lowering the number of municipalities with high degrees of social exclusion and introducing the “Index of Social Exclusion”, which has improved targeted support to the most afflicted areas.

However, the statement criticizes the insufficient involvement of the residents of excluded localities in the process of social inclusion, the lack of clarity as to whether support for the Romani minority is a priority of the ASZ, and the lack of a strategy for communicating with the public. Civil society members of the Czech Government Council for Roma Minority Affairs and representatives of the organizations in RomanoNet say one of the crucial problems is insufficient cooperation between the ASZ and Romani leaders.

Although Romani people constitute a significant part of the residents of such localities, they are not sufficiently included in municipal decision-making processes, which weakens the effectiveness of efforts to improve their living conditions. “The participation of Romani people frequently remains just formal and theoretical, without actual influence over the decisions about projects and their implementation. What’s more, the ASZ does not put enough pressure on municipalities to actively cooperate with the Romani community,” Marián Dancso, vice-chair of the Czech Government Council for Romani Minority Affairs, told news server Romea.cz.

Romani activists have called on the Government to immediately suspend all decisions about the future of the ASZ and to launch an extensive, transparent public discussion about the institution and its work. The aim of that discussion, according to the statement, should be to comprehensively reassess the focus of the ASZ, how it works and its role, in order to develop more effective, more sustainable solutions to the problems of social exclusion.

“I believe future steps should include the deeper, more active involvement of the Romani community, stronger support from the ASZ for municipalities in such cooperation, and improved publicity and communications to make the impact of the Agency on solving social problems more effective,” Dancso said. The open letter with the call was sent directly to Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, who is also the chair of the Czech Government Council for Romani Minority Affairs.

OPEN LETTER

From: PhDr. Mgr. Marian Dancso, MBA, Vice-Chair of the Czech Government Council for Romani Minority Affairs and Bc. Michal Miko, RomanoNet, z.s.

To: Office of the Government of the Czech Republic

Dear Mr. Prime Minister, Dear Ministers, Dear Deputies,

On the basis of the recent meeting between members of the Agency for Social Inclusion’s Monitoring Committee, the civil society members of the Czech Government Council for Romani Minority Affairs, and representatives of the RomanoNet, z.s. organization, I would like to familiarize you with some key findings which indicate the need for the significant transformation of that institution, as follows.

Statement on the need to significantly transform the Agency for Social Inclusion on the basis of an evaluation of its work to date

On 8 August 2024, a meeting was held between the members of the Agency for Social Inclusion’s Monitoring Committee (hereinafter the ASZ) with the civil society members of the Czech Government Council for Romani Minority Affairs. One aim of the meeting was to clarify questions about the ASZ’s impact on the situation of Romani people as part of an open discussion. Unfortunately, despite the efforts to answer those questions, crucial problems remained without any specific responses. The discussion also concerned the ASZ’s future and its further operations, during which doubts were raised about its ability to effectively address ongoing problems. Questions were also raised about the changes and reforms needed to lead to improved results in the area of Romani social inclusion.

The ASZ is a governmental institution targeting support to municipal departments and municipalities with addressing the problems of social inclusion. Assessments of its activity have yielded mixed results, with which all of the civil society members of the Czech Government Council for Romani Minority Affairs agree.

In recent years the ASZ has recorded certain successes, for example, the decline in the number of municipalities with high degrees of social exclusion or the introduction of the “Index of Social Inclusion” instrument to aid with better targeting resources and support to the most-afflicted areas. The index is considered an effective instrument for optimizing the distribution of public funding and increasing the effectiveness of social inclusion.

On the other hand, however, the ASZ’s activity also faces criticism. A recent assessment indicates that the ASZ should focus more on involving the residents of the excluded localities themselves in the processes of social inclusion and on supporting more intensive contact between these communities and other residents living nearby. Another critical aspect is that the ASZ has no clearly established priority of support for Romani people and their involvement in local co-decision making and cooperation in the long term. Such a lack prevents the ASZ from effectively taking advantage of the potential of Romani people themselves to improve the situations in the excluded localities. Likewise, its inconsistent communications strategy and insufficient publicity weakens the influence of the ASZ locally. In addition, problems have occurred which are related to changes in the organization and internal conflicts which could disrupt the effectiveness of its work.

What is more, during 2023, the situation in the socially excluded localities worsened, leading to a rise in the number of municipalities which are at risk. This development indicates the ASZ may not be managing to react in a sufficiently effective way to the growing problems which could be caused by the insufficient coordination of state policies.

Another serious problem is the ASZ’s insufficient cooperation with Romani leaders who could play a crucial role in improving the situations in the socially excluded localities. Although Romani people constitute a significant part of the residents of such localities, the ASZ is not doing enough to pressure municipal departments and municipalities to actively involve Romani people in decision-making processes and in the work in these areas. The lack of involvement of key Romani stakeholders weakens the ASZ’s potential to achieve permanent, sustainable transformations.

It is startling that the participation of Romani people in ASZ initiatives remains mostly just passive and theoretical. The Agency may emphasize the importance of involving them, but in practice, this frequently remains at the level of formal mentions and symbolic gestures. Romani people are being involved in discussions, but rarely actively contribute to decision-making about projects or their implementation, projects which would really improve their lives, whether that be about education, employment, or access to basic services. Without the genuine involvement of Romani leaders, the solving of problems in the socially excluded localities will remain incomplete and ineffective, which intensifies Romani people’s distrust of institutions and undermines the ASZ’s efforts.

Overall, it is possible to state that although the ASZ has achieved certain successes, its activity is endangered by internal problems, insufficient communication with the public, and the lack of active cooperation with Romani people. If the ASZ is meant to keep playing a crucial role in integrating socially excluded groups, it is essential that it undergo a fundamental transformation ensuring a more effective and sustainable approach to solving these challenges. In this context, we believe decisions on the future of the ASZ should not be taken without first involving all relevant stakeholders, including nonprofit organizations, experts in social inclusion, and the representatives of these socially excluded communities. We do not consider commenting procedures to be sufficient.

Given these facts, we, the civil society members of the Czech Government Council for Romani Minority Affairs and the representatives of the RomanoNet, z.s. umbrella organization, which formally and informally brings together 30 civil society entities, are hereby jointly calling on the Government to suspend with immediate effect any decisions about the future of the ASZ and to launch an open, wide-ranging discussion about its future direction. We are urging the launch of an extensive, transparent public discussion that will facilitate comprehensive reassessment of the ASZ’s focus, how it works, and its role.

We thank you for the attention paid to this important matter and believe we will manage to achieve positive transformations in the area of social inclusion in the Czech Republic together.

Respectfully yours,

PhDr. Mgr., Marian Dancso, MBA
Vice-Chair, Czech Government Council for Romani Minority Affairs
and
Bc. Michal Miko
Director, RomanoNet, z.s.
Civil society member of the Czech Government Council for Romani Minority Affairs