AGDM Participatory Assessment

AGDM Participatory Assessment Findings June 2008

Introduction: The aim of this paper is to analyze data gathered during the Age, Gender and Diversity Mainstreaming (AGDM) participatory assessments in Belgrade and Kraljevo AORs held in June 2008. During this round of PA nine teams (5 Belgrade, 4 Kraljevo) comprised of UNHCR staff and IPs active in the region, visited nine municipalities: Bor, Pancevo, Zemun, Subotica, Zrenjanin, Zajecar, Bela Palanka, Krusevac and Nis. As previously agreed at the MFT meeting the target group of this PA were IDP RAE accommodated in official collective centers and in unrecognized Roma settlements.

The agreed theme for this PA was Discrimination and Education of IDP RAE community. The major concerns raised were in the area of Education, Social Exclusion, Inadequate housing and Material hardship.

During June assessment, total of 114 Roma IDPs were interviewed.

Age 7-14 15-21 22-59 Male 23 7 30 Female 23 19 12 Total 46 26 42

The most common protection risks expressed by IDPs were: o Lack of access to education (38.%) o Discrimination (11.%) o Social exclusion (10.5%) o Inadequate housing/Unhygienic living conditions (7.0%) o Health risks (4.4%) o Material hardship (2.6%)

Solutions proposed by the POC: o Pre-school projects in the settlements where Roma children could learn Serbian in order to successfully enroll and attend primary school o Provision of school supplies, food, clothes o Provision of better housing solutions; assistance in building materials o More job opportunities

Follow up: o Distribute available school material to children attending school o Include RAE community children in distribution of available assistance including giving the opportunity to RAE IDPs to access the local labor market. Limited job opportunities in the region result in the local labor market not being able to respond to the needs of all those in need of employment. o Advocate for relocation to more adequate accommodation giving priority to closer job opportunities (although a pressing need, there are no capacities within the local institutions to provide better accommodation) o Raise awareness of education importance to the families whose children do not attend school o Arrange visit of IP dealing with Self-reliance project to explore the capacity and potential for vocational training of the POC

Conclusions: o It is perceived that Discrimination, although identified as a protection risk by a number of PoCs, might not be taken in the manner that the RAE communities have been discriminated as an ethnic group (in the municipalities visited). It is rather communicated as lack of capacities and opportunities within the local community/authorities to include this group in the sphere of employment. Poverty of the region where the RAE communities reside may be perceived as a major reason for such a feeling. Furthermore, Access to proper education should rather be understood as a lack of awareness of education importance, raising the need to work closely with the RAE community towards better understanding of such an important issue.

UNHCR Belgrade September 2008