The President of the Parliament of Montenegro Andrija Mandić said that significant progress has been made in education, health care, employment, legal and social status and family protection of the Roma community, but that much more needs to be done.
At the session of the Roma Parliament, which is organized on the occasion of International Roma Day, he said that the focus must be on breaking every form of discrimination against the Roma population, because this is the core of all the problems that pervade the mentioned areas.
Mandić said that by organizing the Roma Parliament, they want to draw attention to the rights that belong to the Roma community and to the problems that the community faces on a daily basis.
He said that there is still no precise database on children who are outside the school system, while a big problem is the lack of information when it comes to early school leaving and irregular attendance.
He pointed out that the big problem is that the Roma and Egyptian communities are not involved in political decision-making in Montenegro, because they do not have their authentic representatives in the Parliament of Montenegro.
Mandić said that he is honored that "one of the best young politicians in Montenegro, the mayor of Nikšić, Marko Kovačević, is receiving the award of the Mayor of the Friends of the Roma today in Brussels."
The President of the Roma Council, Mensur Šalaj, asked Mandić if he is ready to promise to lead a dialogue with the MPs on amending the Constitution and the Law, to officially recognize the Roma as a national minority in Montenegro.
Mandić replied that he believes that after the final results of the census, through the competent Committee for Electoral Reform, they will be able to open a dialogue on the issue of the representation of the Roma and Egyptian population:
"And in this way, to confirm the fight for equality for everyone in Montenegro, not only in rhetoric, but also in concrete actions," said Mandić.
The Minister of Human and Minority Rights, Fatmir Đeka, said that the Roma and Egyptian community in Montenegro is celebrating its international day again this year in the fight for a better position:
"Although in recent years, Montenegro has been making significant efforts to facilitate their access to educational, health and social programs and services, strengthening the support of collaborators in social inclusion, there is no need to repeat that all this is still insufficient", said Đeka.
He said that education is a key challenge for the full inclusion of the Roma and Egyptian communities, and that action should be taken at all levels of education and focus should be placed on pre-school education.
The Protector of Human Rights and Freedoms of Montenegro, Siniša Bjeković, pointed out that the unavailability of education, exclusion from the labor market, social insecurity, lack of adequate housing infrastructure, unavailability of health care, unregulated civil-legal status, discriminatory environment with hate speech and violence are the characteristics of Roma life. community both globally and in Montenegro.
"I especially emphasize the lack of empathy towards the Roma community, expressed in an attempt to compare their subordinate position with other vulnerable groups. This is the wrong approach", said Bjekovic.
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The National Coordinator for Monitoring the Implementation of the Strategy of Social Inclusion of Roma and Egyptians in Montenegro 2021-2025, Sokolj Beganaj, said that this date also reminds of the long road ahead of them in achieving full recognition and equality for Roma and Egyptians in Montenegro.
"Although we achieved certain successes in the previous period, we must be aware that many obstacles are still present. Discrimination, anti-Gypsyism and poverty are still the reality that this population faces on a daily basis. As long as these phenomena are present, we cannot talk about true equality," said Beganaj.
He said that last year the enrollment of Roma and Egyptian children in preschool institutions increased by 45 percent, students finishing elementary school by 32 percent, high school by 11 percent, and the number of students from four to eight students per year.
The second session of the Roma Parliament is organized by the Committee for Human Rights and Freedoms, in cooperation with the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights and the Protector of Human Rights and Freedoms of Montenegro, under the auspices of the President of the Parliament of Montenegro.
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