He emphasized that the provision of school meals and the payment of the Minimum Guaranteed Income for families living in poverty are actions that largely concern the Roma.
“Tackling social discrimination and exclusion is the task of every civilized society. We want the Roma to be equal with all other Greek citizens, with the same rights and obligations.” This was underlined by the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, Kostis Hatzidakis, speaking at the Meeting of South-East European Delegations on the Rights and Integration of Roma Children, co-organized by the General Secretariat for Social Solidarity and Combating Poverty together with UNICEF.
As Mr. Hatzidakis noted, “despite the significant efforts that have been made to date, the Roma still face many obstacles to their socio-economic integration: degraded living conditions, the high student dropout rate, insufficient access to health services, reduced possibilities for integration in the labor market, negative social stereotypes. Particularly sensitive is the issue of Roma children – the subject of today’s meeting – and especially girls and young women who risk being trapped for their entire lives in the vicious circle of these obstacles.
That is why, in the Greek government, we consider it our duty to tackle marginalization and discrimination, covering the lost ground and intensifying our efforts, in cooperation with the Roma communities themselves.
Our goal is to deal with the problems and discrimination they experience as a whole, in harmony with the directions of the European Union”.
Afterwards, the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs described the initiatives undertaken in this direction, with the new National Strategy and Action Plan for the Social Inclusion of the Roma 2021-2030 as a “compass” and its four pillars, which are:
– The prevention and fight against poverty and social exclusion.
– Strengthening Roma’s equal access to basic services and goods (education, health, employment, health, housing).
– The prevention and fight against stereotypes and discrimination against the Roma.
– The promotion of the active participation of Roma in social, economic and political life.
“Of course, we do not exhaust our efforts in theoretical approaches, but we also proceed with substantial interventions in the field” continued Mr. Hatzidakis and noted: “In this context, we place special emphasis on children who are discriminated against, young people and women Roma.
Specifically, our actions focus on empowering Roma children and youth for their inclusion and retention in pre-school education and training.
At the same time, we strengthen participation in social activities, such as children’s camps.
We also focus on improving living conditions in the communities with special programs, as well as providing psychosocial and educational support to Roma families and children, through the 60 Roma Branches of the Community Centers of Municipalities with high concentrations of Roma.
Finally, the provision of school meals and the payment of the Minimum Guaranteed Income for families living in poverty, are actions that also concern the Roma to a large extent.”
Concluding, Mr. Hatzidakis pointed out: “We have formulated an integrated framework of policies for the social integration of the Roma, which is part of the government’s broader planning in the field of social policy. So, in parallel with the strategy for the Roma, the National Strategy for Poverty Reduction, the National Action Plan for the Rights of the Child, the National Action Plan for the Guarantee for the Child, the National Action Plan for the Rights of Individuals are proceeding with Disabilities and the National Action Plan for Gender Equality. We implement social policy with substance, not only because it is our duty, but because our conscience dictates it. When we talk about modern democracies and European culture, we cannot forget the need to delve into the issue of social rights. And this means that we have to bend, among other things, to the problems of the Roma communities and especially the Roma children who definitely deserve a better future”.
RES-EMP
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