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OSCE workshop on policing in Roma and Sinti сommunities

Description

The workshop aimed to bring together police experts and representatives of civil society to review the first draft of the SPMU/ODIHR guidebook "Police and Roma and Sinti: Good Practices in Building Trust and Understanding"

Summary

In 2003, the participating States adopted the OSCE Action Plan on Improving the Situation of Roma and Sinti within in the OSCE Area tasking the Strategic Police Matters Unit (SPMU) and the ODIHR Contact Point for Roma and Sinti Issues (CPRSI) to “produce a compilation of police ‘best practices’ in the OSCE region with respect to policing and Roma and Sinti communities”.

In this context, the SPMU in close co-operation with the ODIHR-CPRSI developed a written guide on “Police and Roma and Sinti: Good Practices in Building Trust and Understanding”. The guidebook is a technical document serving as a reference to good practices and initiatives in improving the relations between the police and Roma, Sinti and Traveller communities. The book is designed to assist law enforcement official and members of civil society in implementing the recommendations on policing as stated in the above mentioned action plan.

The guidebook is based primarily on the experience and findings of the ODIHR’s two-year project on “Police and Roma: Towards Safety for Multi-Ethnic Communities”, as well as on related reports, materials and recommendations of the SPMU, the HCNM and other OSCE executive structures, international partner organizations and civil society organizations.

The SPMU and the ODIHR-CPRSI invited the OSCE participating States to nominate police experts and representatives from civil society to participate in the workshop.