A/HRC/22/49/Add.1 estimate unemployment among Roma communities to be above 80 per cent and frequently approaching 100 per cent, a point confirmed in meetings with Roma.14 Most Roma earn small incomes from informal activities such as collecting scrap materials, seasonal agricultural labour, or begging.15 Lack of education and training remains a major obstacle to Roma employment and is also cited by potential employers. 48. Community representatives explained the difficulties that Roma face in finding employment, citing widespread discrimination as well as poor education. The Independent Expert was concerned that communities seemed resigned to unemployment as a fact of life, which has many implications, including for children, who lack working role models and see little advantage to remaining in school. In some communities, almost no one has formal employment; there, families survive on social support and what little they can earn in informal low-income occupations. 49. Some positive results have been achieved through action plans. In 2009/10 the Roma Employment and Self-Employment Programme was created, aimed at providing employers with incentives to recruit unemployed Roma and provide training, as well as at creating an environment conducive to Roma self-employment. A public call for applications from prospective employers and Roma was made, and selected applicants received grant funds. A review revealed that in the Federation, the project resulted in the employment of 98 people: 33 found jobs and 65 became self-employed. In the Republika Srpska the project resulted in the employment or self-employment of 18 people.16 50. Roma NGOs have proposed a number of recommendations to improve Roma access to employment, including strengthened programme development in partnership with employment agencies, enhanced outreach to communities, specialist training aimed at specific labour markets, and efforts to overcome stereotypes among the non-Roma community and potential employers. Despite gender mainstreaming being required in action plans, few activities have specifically related to Roma women; in the area of employment, none has been implemented in practice. More attention should be dedicated to the employment of Roma women. 51. Some Roma receive social assistance; however, such assistance is reliant on inclusion in the civil registry. Since many Roma are not registered they are not eligible for social assistance and do not appear on employment agency lists;17 this also has implications for access to health-care assistance. While the country spends significant funds on social protection generally, funds often do not reach the poorest communities, notably Roma. Also, the level of child protection differs from canton to canton. C. Health 52. High and persistent levels of poverty, lack of education and employment, and poor housing and living conditions without access to adequate water and sanitation facilities contribute to poor health situations for Roma relative to other population groups. Many Roma reportedly remain unable to gain access to needed health-care services and appropriate health insurance due to registration problems. In this regard, the Roma Health14 15 16 17 See, for example, Human Rights Watch, Second Class Citizens (footnote 8 above), p. 51. In its Trafficking in Persons Report 2012, the United States Department of State reports that a significant number of Roma children are forced into begging, and that forced begging is often linked to trafficking and exploitation of children by organized crime groups. See www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/2012/192366.htm. Kali Sara Roma Information Center, ―Report‖, pp. 13-21. Ibid., p. 12. 13