Discrimination against Romani refugees from Ukraine reviewed at OSCE/ODIHR
The importance of monitoring and addressing discriminatory and racist behavior against the Romani people fleeing war-torn Ukraine was the main subject of a side event at last week's conference held by the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The event was attended by Romani and Sinti activists and experts along with representatives of the OSCE participating states.
Those attending concentrated on the current challenges, on examples of good practice, and on recommendations to aid the institutions of the OSCE, participating states and others with providing security to Romani refugees. “Romani Ukrainians, many of whom have been internally displaced within Ukraine from the beginning of this crisis in 2014, have been forced to flee their country along with their fellow citizens,” said Theodoros Alexandridis, a human rights lawyer and mentor with the Roma Human Rights Defenders supported by ODIHR who are monitoring the Romani refugees’ situation.
“As our monitoring shows, sincere support to refugees from Ukraine in receiving countries does not apply to the Roma who have been forced to flee,” Alexandridis declared. “Biases and prejudices against the Romani community in these countries have been the cause of the discrimination committed against Romani refugees at all stages of their journey to safety, from border crossings, to applying for temporary protection, to provision of accommodation.”
“Their plight would be much more dramatic if it were not for the solidarity of the Romani non-profit organizations and communities in the receiving countries,” Alexandridis said. Taiia Avram of the “Chirikli” Roma Women’s Fund of Ukraine emphasized the role played by Romani civil society in campaigns drawing attention to the concerns of Romani people both inside and outside Ukraine.
“We are developing an open dialogue with the authorities and making recommendations to them about how to arrange for the unprejudiced implementation of strategy and how to ameliorate the afflictions and difficulties faced by these refugees,” Avram said. ODIHR’s mandate is to combat discrimination and racism and to address the problems of Romani and Sinti people in both crisis and post-crisis situations in accordance with the 2003 Action Plan on Improving the Situation of Roma and Sinti within the OSCE Area.
