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PROMOTING AND PROTECTING MINORITY RIGHTS
Lawyers Defending Roma has been implemented in France, Greece, Italy and Turkey and training
continues in Romania and Bulgaria.
Combating anti-gypsyism
Dosta! – “Enough!” in the Romani language – is the slogan of the Council of Europe campaign
to change attitudes and have people discover the true potential of the Roma people. Launched
in 2008, the campaign has been implemented in 14 countries to date. The multilingual website
of the Dosta! campaign is regularly updated with new information and documentation, including
leaflets, posters, television and radio spots and a toolkit for campaigning against stereotypes.140
Recognition of the Roma genocide
The Council of Europe, in cooperation with the Contact Point for Roma and Sinti Issues within
the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of OSCE (see chap. XIII), has
a project to enhance recognition and increase awareness of the genocide of Roma and Sinti
during the Second World War. The project includes the production of teaching materials on
Roma history and culture and the organization of events and meetings. A website devoted
to Roma remembrance comprises a database on this period of Roma history, with a virtual
library of the best-known and most useful publications, and an interactive map indicating special
or distinctive features by country; and information on curricula, available teaching materials,
school textbooks, places of remembrance, and innovative practices introduced by ministries,
civil society, international organizations, museums and schools.141
Analysis and exchange of policies and good practices
Database on policies and good practices
A database established in 2011 includes examples of policies, strategies and “promising”,
“demonstrated” and “replicated” (or best) practices relating to Roma at national, regional or
local levels. It integrates information in cooperation with member States, the Congress of Local
and Regional Authorities, the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights, and international
partners such as the Decade for Roma Inclusion, European Commission, European Union Agency
for Fundamental Rights and ODIHR.
The Council of Europe Roma portal (www.coe.int/roma) reflects the transversal approach taken
and includes a link to all Roma-related texts adopted by various Council of Europe bodies and
updated information on Roma-related projects.
Ad hoc Committee of Experts on Roma Issues
An intergovernmental body dealing with Roma issues was first set up in 1995. Following the
adoption of the Strasbourg Declaration on Roma in October 2010, intergovernmental work
on Roma issues has been strengthened and new terms of reference adopted for an Ad hoc
Committee of Experts on Roma Issues (CAHROM), which is answerable directly to the Committee
of Ministers of the Council of Europe.
The terms of reference place emphasis on the analysis and evaluation of the implementation of
national policies and thematic exchanges of experience and good practices. The Committee
has established three thematic groups of countries, based on the role of local and regional
authorities in implementing national strategies and action plans for Roma, on absenteeism and
school dropout of Roma children and on social housing for Roma.
See www.dosta.org.
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See www.opusidea.eu/trr/.
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