Brussels, the 30th June, 2011
Honourable Stakeholders,
We all know that Roma are European citizens. Nevertheless, they face structural discrimination and are not accepted as equal citizens. Prejudices and stereotypes are widely spread and often remain unquestioned in the media, in politics and in society. Stigmatization of Roma and antigipsysm are some of the main causes of social exclusion. We are strongly concerned about the current rise of extremism, racism and antigipsysm in many European countries:
This situation puts in doubt not just the prosperous, tolerant and peaceful future of Europe, but it puts at risk the potentials and the future of a huge group of young people! Over 30 % of Roma are currently under the age of 14, half of the Roma population is under 18 --and this in a constantly aging society.
A key issue will be to tackle the root causes of their social exclusion. Exclusionary mechanisms based on stigmatization in education (an incredibly huge number of the Roma youth go to special schools in many cases without professional diagnosis) and employment stop young people from developing their potential and capacity.