UN expert applauds Roma women confronting discrimination

This article comes to us from the Roma Virtual Network.

 

 

 

UN expert applauds Roma women confronting discrimination

25 October 2011

The United Nations Independent Expert on minority issues, Rita Izsák, today welcomed the 3rd International Conference on Roma Women held during 23-25 October 2011 in Granada, Spain.

"Roma women must recognize and confront the challenges and barriers that exist even within their communities, and many of you are doing so and courageously confronting discrimination wherever it exists. As fellow Roma women leaders and rights advocates I applaud your efforts.” said the Independent Expert.

In her statement to the conference, Ms Izsák, emphasized that women belonging to minorities in every region of the world frequently experience unique challenges and multiple or intersectional discrimination emanating from their status as members of minorities and as women or girls. “Roma women often struggle within their communities to advocate for their rights, which can easily be suppressed or forgotten as a result of prioritizing the general concerns of the Roma”, she stated.

The Independent Expert called the attention of participants to the forthcoming UN Forum on Minority Issues which will be organized in Geneva on 29 to 30 November 2011 and will focus on “Guaranteeing the rights of minority women”.

The Forum will have an emphasis placed on the rights and opportunities for minority women to access quality education, to take part effectively in economic life and access labour markets, and to participate fully in social, cultural and political life. The Independent Expert invited a representative of the Roma women’s conference to the Forum to report on the outcomes of their meeting and asked participants to take part in shaping the recommendations of the UN Minority Forum.

Rita Izsák recalled the EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies, adopted under the Hungarian EU Presidency, which clearly states, that special attention should be paid to the interests and difficulties of Roma women and girls, who face the risk of multiple discrimination, and thus a gender perspective needs to be applied in all policies and actions for advancing Roma inclusion. The number of Roma in Europe is estimated to be over 10 million and constitutes the largest ethnic minority in the continent.

"There are many challenges ahead and I hope that Roma women will take an active role in shaping their countries’ Roma strategies and will successfully incorporate into them Roma women’s perspectives.” said the Independent Expert.

The organizers of the 3rd International Conference on Roma Women are the Council of Europe, in cooperation with the Instituto de Cultura Gitana of the Ministry of Culture, the Spanish Government and the International Roma Women’s Network.

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Rita Izsák was appointed as Independent Expert on minority issues by the Human Rights Council in June 2011. As Independent Expert, she is independent from any government or organization and serves in her individual capacity. Ms. Izsák has a decade of minority rights activism and has worked before in various capacities with NGOs, at the UN, OSCE and the Hungarian government, where she coordinated the creation of the EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies. Learn more, log on to: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Minorities/IExpert/Pages/IEminorityissuesIndex.aspx

For inquiries and media requests, please contact Graham Fox (Tel: +41 22 917 9640 email: gfox@ohchr.org or write to minorityissues@ohchr.org

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