On 22 May 2018, the report entitled The Wall of Anti-Gypsysm - Roma in Serbia, prepared by the Civil Rights Defenders, was presented in the Media Centre in Belgrade. The report includes the information about the situation of Roma in Serbia in different areas of life, including employment, education, housing, access to justice, personal documents, health, security and freedom from torture, asylum and forced return.

On that occasion, Marija Dražović, Antidiscrimination and Gender Equality Programme Coordinator in Praxis, said that despite progress, Roma continued to encounter problems in exercising their fundamental rights.

“Most often they need free legal aid; however, the problem lies in the fact that the Law on Free Legal Aid has not been adopted in our country due to which Roma have to rely on the civil sector”, said Ms. Dražović.  Marija stressed the necessity of including Roma into decision-making processes regarding the improvement of their situation, but also a great importance of improving the existing laws and regulations regarding the exercise of the right to citizenship, possession of personal documents, receiving a child allowance.

“Roma mothers, due to scarcity of financial resources, are not able to pay fees for the issuance of ID cards. Thus, they are prevented from exercising the right to child allowance, as they do not possess a valid personal document. Given their social position, this is a serious problem for them, and therefore, it is our recommendation to find a solution as soon as possible in order to overcome such situations", Ms. Dražović concluded.

See the statement of Media Centre here.