E/CN.4/2000/16/Add.1 page 13 6. Measures to increase Roma security 49. In order to increase the security of the Roma community, the Government will provide occasional and regular training on racism and Roma for judges and for all officials involved in criminal procedures, as well as for public officers. 50. Regulations, judicial rulings and directives of the public prosecutor’s office must give definitions of some terms (such as race, nationality, xenophobia, racist, xenophobic or nationalistic grounds, violence based on racism or xenophobia), so as to enable less experienced investigators, public prosecutors and judges to avoid mistakes. 51. In addition to the measures described above, the Czech Government has introduced institutional reforms intended to coordinate the activities of all ministerial departments on behalf of the Roma. An interdepartmental Commission on community affairs was established in 1997; it is chaired by the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Czech Republic, and includes, inter alia, representatives of the Ministries of Education, Labour, Health, Culture, Social Affairs and the Interior, along with 12 representatives of the Roma community. The Commission supervises the implementation of the Government's plan of action for the Roma. 52. Initiatives inspired by the government project have been taken locally, as in the case of the city of Brno in Moravia, which has drawn up a strategic plan to improve inter-ethnic relations between the majority population and the Roma minority. This plan is aimed at the integration of the 16,000 Roma in the city, and includes educational and vocational training projects; cultural projects (theatre, publication of Romany language periodicals, production of a CD of Roma music); projects for improving Roma living conditions; and the building of a museum of Roma culture. The Special Rapporteur visited Roma House, which is a meeting and activity centre, providing educational support and vocational training for Roma, furnishing advice and psychological support to persons in need and also offering recreational facilities for children of Roma families. The Centre also supports a housing renovation project, which the Special Rapporteur visited, and plans to set up a basket-making centre, this being a traditional Roma activity. The local government also employs a Roma adviser to help in designing and implementing its projects. 53. In 1995 a new general ordinance was issued, requiring representatives of the Public Prosecutor's Office to initiate proceedings for offences motivated by racial hatred. The police established a special department to combat extremism and its activity is probably reflected in the increasing number of racist offences recorded. Although the machinery of justice shows slightly more severity than in the past towards racist crime, the investigation of such cases and the initiation of proceedings against their perpetrators face many obstacles. It is possible that prejudice against the Roma may be a factor, although that is very hard to prove. E. Action by civil society 54. Several non-governmental organizations and community associations provide legal or social support to the Roma in an effort to find solutions to their problems. The Roma Movement concerns itself with child education; it organizes seminars on the problems involved in educating