A/HRC/4/9/Add.2 page 11 B. Roma political participation 38. Roma are very poorly represented within the national Government and only three Roma Members of Parliament (representing the main opposition party) were elected in 2006 to the 386-member Parliament. The governing coalition has no Roma MPs and there is considered to be a general lack of political will to field Roma representatives as political candidates amongst all political parties, despite competition for Roma votes. Proposals to reduce Parliament by 2010 to between 200-289 members, may further reduce the possibilities for Roma representation according to Roma commentators. 39. Under the provisions of the Constitution and the 1993 Act LXXVII on the Rights of National and Ethnic Minorities, there is a requirement to ensure the representation of minorities within Parliament. However no mechanism for the representation of minorities has been established since the transition period and a solution is long overdue. The Independent Expert supports the opinion of the Council of Europe Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, that the Government should draw inspiration from systems used in other countries and in this regard recalls articles 6 and 7 of the 1992 Declaration on Minorities relating to inter-State cooperation. 40. Current Roma MPs were elected as mainstream party representatives. Although a Roma political party, Roma Összefogás Párt (Party for Roma Cooperation) did field candidates in recent elections, it achieved a poor percentage of the votes cast. Uniquely amongst European Union countries, Hungary has two Roma women Members of the European Parliament. Domestically, at all but the lowest levels of minority self-government, Roma women are underrepresented. A higher percentage of Roma women play leadership roles in the minority self-government at the local settlement level where there are few if any resources, but nevertheless, an expectation that they will address the community’s social problems. 41. The system of minority self-governments established 999 local Roma self-governments in 2002 increasing to 1,118 following 2006 elections. Support given to the National Roma Self-Government in 2006 was 820,000 euros with an additional 254,000 euros for the functioning of institutions under their management. However, at the local level, due to higher priority needs of communities facing severe discrimination, exclusion and poverty, the system has largely been diverted from its intended function to preserve Roma culture, identity and language. 42. The failure and neglect of municipal authorities to fulfil their social and economic responsibilities for which they are State funded, have left Roma self-governments to address pressing issues beyond their originally designated function. Many face pressure to act as social service providers, which is in actuality the responsibility of municipal authorities. Roma self-governments lack the resources or capacity to provide the solutions required by Roma communities, and conflicts, including inter-community conflict, can result. The Independent Expert stressed that the system was not intended as a vehicle for confronting urgent social and economic problems. 43. There is a need to clarify the competencies and jurisdictions of minority self-governments. Efforts to amend legislation at the national level to increase the authority of local minority self-governments have reportedly been blocked or weakened by mayors who