Migration and Human Rights

Best Practices for Roma Integration Project description

Title: Best Practices for Roma Integration
Contractor: Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe / Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR)
Beneficiaries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia, the “Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” and Kosovo* *All reference to Kosovo, whether to the territory, institutions or population, in this text shall be understood in full compliance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999) and without prejudice to the status of Kosovo”.
Implementation start date: 01/01/2012
Duration 23 months
EU contribution to budget 3 M EUR

Overall objective


The overall objective of the programme is to contribute to the integration of minorities in the Western Balkans in accordance with the Beneficiaries’ commitments in the perspective of EU accession. The specific objective is to improve the quality of life and access to rights of the Roma communities in the Western Balkans.

The project’s primary target groups include: (1) governments at national and local levels, in particular, Ministries/state agencies and associations of municipalities/municipal structures directly responsible for Roma issues. (2) Mainstream and Roma public servants: those in national state structures and employees of municipalities targeted by the project (including Roma civil servants, Coordinators/Mediators employed in the public sector, etc.). Secondary target groups include: (1) mainstream and Roma municipal employees in municipalities not directly targeted by the project, benefiting from strengthened resources of the associations of municipalities; (2) civil society (Roma and mainstream NGOs, incl. Roma women NGOs and networks, associations and civil society groups). The project’s final beneficiaries are: (1) Roma and mainstream staff of service providers (education, health, welfare and other) benefiting from capacity building activities on non-discrimination, inclusion and mainstreaming, and (2) Roma people in the Western Balkans (incl. displaced groups) who will participate in and benefit from national and local governments’ actions to protect their rights and ensure equal access to and benefit from public services.


Expected results

  • The region’s good practices in multi-sector municipal collaboration, Roma involvement in decision-making and participation of Roma in political life have been strengthened and applied in practice;

  • Roma people’s interest in and possibilities to access civil registration and legal aid services have increased throughout the region;

  • Roma people are more empowered to advocate and have greater opportunities to benefit from mechanisms and initiatives for legalisation and improvements of their settlements;

  • Possibilities for Roma participation in public life have been enhanced through anti-discriminatory policies and practice and increased public awareness about Roma rights to be included and not to be discriminated against, and;
  • Possibilities for Roma participation in Government-led national and regional co-ordination and other compatible cross-border initiatives in and outside of the Western Balkans have been enhanced