1. ORIGIN OF ROMA AND THEIR SETTLEMENT IN SLOVENIA

The historical data mention Roma living on the territory of today’s Republic of Slovenia already in 15th century. But from 17th century onwards the information about them is more frequent; they are also mentioned in different Registers (Register of Births, Register of Deaths, Register of Marriages etc.). Research shows that the Roma living in Slovenia today came from three different directions: the ancestors of the Roma living in Prekmurje came to this region across the Hungarian territory, the Dolenjska group of Roma came across the Croatian territory, and in Gorenjska there were small groups of Sinti that came from the North across the Austrian territory. Even though primarily these groups were nomads or semi-nomads, and in the past they frequently changed the position of their settlements, today we can firmly talk about specific regions where these groups settled indefinitely: in Prekmurje, Dolenjska, Bela krajina and Posavje. In these regions the Roma Ethnic Community lives traditionally, historically, and has preserved its more or less permanent and specific settlement.       

2. STATISTICAL DATA

In the 2002 census 3,246 inhabitants declared themselves as members of Roma Ethnic Community and 3,834 persons stated Roma language was their mother tongue. By way of comparison, data from the 1991 census show that 2,259 inhabitants declared themselves as Roma and 2,752 stated Roma language was their mother tongue, 28.2 per cent less than in the 2002 census. In the latest census, in 2002, 30.4 per cent more persons declared themselves as Roma than in the 1991 census.

According to the data from 2003 provided by social work centres, there are supposedly 6,264 Roma living in Slovenia. According to the data from 2004 provided by the municipalities where Roma are settled historically, 6,448 members of Roma Ethnic Community are supposedly living in these municipalities.

Despite what is contained in the official data of the census, we estimate that between 7,000 and 10,000 Roma live in the Republic of Slovenia, the majority of them in Prekmurje, Dolenjska, Posavje and Bela krajina.

3. CONSTITUTIONAL AND LEGAL STATUS

The special status of Roma living in Slovenia was first recognised in 1989 with a constitutional amendment stipulating the law should regulate the status of Roma.

The legal basis for current regulation is provided in Article 65 of the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia, which stipulates: “The status and special rights of the Roma Community living in Slovenia shall be regulated by law.”

This enabled legal foundation for protective measures, and at the same time it was obvious that the Roma, due to their specificity, cannot be equated to the status of the Italian and Hungarian National Community living in the Republic of Slovenia.

Article 65 confers a mandate upon the legislator to provide special statutory rights to the Roma Community living in Slovenia as a distinct community – in addition to the general rights that appertain to every citizen. This means the provision of additional protection, known in legal terms as “positive discrimination” or positive protection, and implies that in regulating the special status and rights of the Roma Community, the legislator is not restricted by the principle of equality (in regulating human rights and fundamental freedoms the first paragraph of Article 14 of the Constitution forbids any discrimination on the grounds of nationality, race, gender, etc.).

In the Republic of Slovenia, the Roma Community does not enjoy the status of a national minority, but is recognised as a special community or a minority with special ethnic characteristics (its own language, culture and other ethnic specificities).

The National Assembly’s Committee for Internal Affairs and Legislation adopted on 12 October 1995 the following decision: “For the regulation of issues that are of vital importance to the settlement of the Roma status in the Republic of Slovenia for the time being an overall act on Roma Community is not needed, these issues should be regulated, considering equality rights, in sector-specific legislation measured by the Government of the Republic of Slovenia and other measures.”

In 1995 the Government of the Republic of Slovenia adopted the position that the protection of the Roma Ethnic Community should be suitably regulated in sector-specific acts.

The Slovene Human Rights Ombudsman in his Ninth Regular Annual Report drawed attention to the need to adopt an overall act on Roma Community that would regulate the status and special rights of this Community. The same viewpoint was also expressed in his Tenth Regular Annual Report for 2004.

From the constitutional legal point of view the question, if partially regulated special rights of the Roma Ethnic Community carry out the intent of the constitutional body to apart from special rights determine also the status of this Community, remains open. With this we mean the extent of the definition of the area where these rights are being recognised and other condition that have to be carried out.

Article 65 of the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia is currently being implemented through sector-specific legislation and the protection of the rights of the Roma Community has thus far been regulated by eleven (11) sector-specific acts:

1. Local Government Act  (Official Gazette RS, No. 72/93, ..., 100/05),

2. Local Elections Act (Official Gazette RS, No. 72/93, ..., 22/06),

3. Voting Rights Register Act (Official Gazette RS, No. 52/02, ..., 73/03),

4. Exercising Public Interest in Culture Act (Official Gazette RS, No. 96/02).

5. Organisation and Financing of Education and Training Act (Official Gazette RS, No. 12/96, ..., 98/05),

6. Kindergarten Act (Official Gazette RS, No. 12/96, ..., 100/05),

7. Elementary School Act  (Official Gazette RS, No. 12/96, ..., 70/05),

8. Public Media Act (Official Gazette RS, No. 35/01, ..., 96/05),

9. Librarianship Act (Official Gazette RS, No. 87/01, ..., 96/02),

10. Promotion of Balanced Regional Development Act (Official Gazette RS, No. 93/05),

11. Radiotelevizija Slovenija Act (Official Gazette RS, No. 96/05).

 

Two recently adopted acts will significantly contribute to the improvement of the situation of the Roma Ethnic Community in the Republic of Slovenia: Promotion of Balanced Regional Development Act and Radiotelevizija Slovenija Act.

Promotion of Balanced Regional Development Act, adopted 4 October 2005, entered into force 5 November 2005, stipulates inter alia:

• One of the main goals of the promotion of balanced regional development is also development of the Roma settlements (Article 3),
• Regional development programs of regions where the Roma Community lives, include development programs of the settlements where this community resides (Article 12),
• Among members of the regional development council in the development regions where the Roma Community lives, there is also a representative of the Roma Community. The Roma Community itself appoints representative of the Roma Community to the regional development council (Article 25).

Radiotelevizija Slovenija Act, adopted 15 June 2005, approved on referendum 25 September 2005, entered into force 12 November 2005, stipulates inter alia: "according to this Act public service comprehends creating, preparing, recording and broadcasting …… radio and television broadcasts for the Roma Community (broadcasts for Roma)".

In the future, the regulation of the issues regarding the Roma Ethnic Community in the Republic of Slovenia will apart from already existing sector-specific acts also include a basic act on Roma Community, which is still at the preparation stage. At its 5th session on 6 January 2005, the Government adopted the following decision (No. 018-11/2004-1): “The Government of the Republic of Slovenia tasked the Office for Nationalities to start preparations towards adopting a special act on the Roma Community".

 

 

4. THE REALIZATION OF THE GOVERNMENT PROGRAM OF MEASURES

     FOR ASSISTING THE ROMA (1995) AND SOME GOVERNMENT

     DECREES

 

Due to course of history and other circumstances there are significant differences among the Roma living in Slovenia, based on tradition, specific way of life, level of socialization and integration into their everyday environment. We assess that the conditions among the Roma living in the northeast part of Slovenia are significantly better than those in the southern part. But in spite of these differences there are some outlines that are common to the majority of the Roma living in Slovenia. This is a community, a minority with poor or without education, mainly without employment, facing grave difficulties in the field of housing conditions. To overcome and alleviate these difficulties the Government of the Republic of Slovenia adopted several measures and other official documents.

a) At its 171st sitting on 30 November 1995 the Government of the Republic of Slovenia adopted the Program of Measures for Assisting the Roma, which is still valid. With this program the Republic of Slovenia showed its awareness of the need to regulate Roma issues consistently. Roma encounter difficulties particularly in the following areas:

• Living standards;
• Education;
• Employment.

b) At its 117th sitting on 1 July 1999 the Government of the Republic of Slovenia again assessed the implementation of the Government Program of Measures for Assisting the Roma (1995), and established that this program was still topical. Therefore it tasked all state agencies to proceed with their activities towards resolving the problems concerning Roma issues:

• regarding Roma issues reconciliation of municipalities where Roma live and state agencies is needed and is of great importance,
• all ministries and government offices are bound to within their competence treat Roma issues with special care and they need to include these issues into the national programs within their filed of work,
• Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning and the Ministry of Finance are tasked to assess all possibilities of assuring a special budgetary item where sufficient funds for helping municipalities regarding housing conditions would accumulate,
• those ministries that have at their disposal the budgetary funds for the stimulation of the development of local communities are tasked when allocating funds to these communities to consider the necessity of establishing sufficient housing conditions for Roma as well as for those residents that are not Roma, and whose conditions are worsened by the proximity and the bad conditions in Roma settlements. These residents (of the non-Roma settlements) are supposed to obtain some kind of “annuity” due to this circumstances,
• state representatives in the managements of certain funds (e.g. Public Fund of the Republic of Slovenia for Regional Development and Preservation of the Settlement of Slovene Rural Areas, Housing Fund of the Republic of Slovenia) are tasked to propose appropriate action.

c) At its 93rd regular session (No. 018-09/2000-5) on 7 October 2004, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia discussed the Report on the Status of Roma, prepared by the Office for Nationalities in cooperation with other state bodies, and adopted ten decisions with the intention of a more rapid solution of Roma issues. Decisions adopted by the Government of the Republic of Slovenia on 7 October 2004 are:

• it is necessary to continue with the effort to improve the status of the members of the Roma Ethnic Community, and with better cooperation among state bodies, local community agencies and the members of the Roma Community,
• it is necessary to establish conditions that would enable the Roma to respect the values of the majority population, and would enable the majority population to except with tolerance the distinctness and cultural diversity of the Roma,
• it is necessary to consistently execute valid regulations (acts and other regulations, international documents that are part of the legal system of the Republic of Slovenia) and directives (Program of Measures for Assisting the Roma from 1995, Government decisions from 1999 etc.), concerning the autochthonous Roma Community in the Republic of Slovenia,
• ministries and government offices should within their competence consistently include suitable measures for the solution of Roma issues into their programs,
• the State should within its resources devote special attention and aid to the fields of housing conditions, education and employment of the Roma,
• it is necessary to realize the implementation of the decision of the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia adopted on 30 May 2002, according to which the respective ministries and government offices must be provided with additional funds to be earmarked for municipalities with autochthonous Roma population for resolving Roma issues,
• in relation to autochthonous Roma Community it is necessary to utilise in greater extent the possibilities offered by the European Funds, etc.

5. AREAS WHERE ROMA FACE GREATEST PROBLEMS

• Living standards

Data provided by municipalities show that in 25 Slovenian municipalities there are 90 Roma settlements. The largest Roma settlement is the local community of Pušča in the Murska Sobota Municipality (approximately 670 residents), and the smallest settlement is Pince in the Lendava Municipality with two residents.

The majority of Roma still reside in settlements isolated from other populations or on the borders of settled areas in circumstances that are below the minimum living standards. Data show that 39 per cent of Roma live in brick houses, half of which were built without the required licences; only 12 per cent of them live in apartment blocks. The remainder live in temporary residences – cabins, housing containers, caravans and similar.

Only small numbers of Roma families live together with the majority population (mainly in Prekmurje), who were able to reach satisfactory level of socialization and were able to involve themselves in the local environment and the society.

The basic conditions for the successful inclusion of Roma in society (education, employment, etc.) are decent living conditions. There have recently been many developments in this area.

Cofinancing of the regulation of Roma settlements by the Republic of Slovenia:

• The Ministry of the Economy published in 2002 a public tender – funds for the regulation of basic infrastructure in Roma settlements, available to the municipalities with Roma population. On the basis of this tender nine municipalities with Roma population (Dobrovnik, Kuzma, Tišina, Murska Sobota, Lendava, Turnišče, Črenšovci, Semič and Črnomelj) obtained in 2002, 2003 and 2004 142,200,000 Slovene tolars.
• The Public Fund of the Republic of Slovenia for Regional Development and Preservation of the Settlement of Slovenian Rural Areas published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No. 98-99/2004 of 10 September 2004 the "Public tender for co-financing projects of basic public utility infrastructure in Roma settlements" worth 100 million Slovene tolars. 20 municipalities with Roma population registered 31 projects for the tender; two municipalities (Grosuplje and Škocjan) failed to comply with one of the terms of the tender (an elected Roma councillor in the municipal council). Four municipalities received funding (Trebnje, Krško, Kuzma, Rogašovci).
• In July 2005, the Slovenian Government adopted the Implementation Program of Assistance to municipalities in order to resolve the most urgent public utility infrastructure problems in Roma settlements for 2005. This provides for the allocation of approximately 306,158,513 Slovene tolars (approximately 150,000,000 Slovene tolars from the state budget for 2005 and the rest from the state budget for 2006) for completing projects launched in 2004.
• The Government Office for Local Self-Government and Regional Policy will from now on every year publish a new summons for the registration to an annual implementation program of help to municipalities with the aim to better the basic infrastructure in Roma settlements. Therefore, the municipalities with historically settled Roma population now have the opportunity to gradually better the situation in Roma settlements through the funding, and with this guarantee the Roma decent living conditions that are the basis for positive results in all other fields (education, employment, socialization etc.).

Tender of the Housing Fund of the Republic of Slovenia:

Municipalities with Roma population were also able to apply for the "Program for promoting the distribution of rental, non-profit apartments in municipalities for 2005" published by the Housing Fund of the Republic of Slovenia on 15 October 2004 (Ur. l. RS, No. 111-112), on the basis of which a municipality was able to acquire up to 75 per cent of funds for providing rental, non-profit apartments and in this way, efficiently resolve the housing issue of Roma in the municipality.

• Education

In 1996, the legal basis for special conditions governing the education of Roma children was incorporated in new education legislation, and the Organisation and Financing of Education and Training Act, Kindergarten Act and Elementary School Act were additionally amended in 2000 and 2001. The implementation of the "Strategy for Education of Roma in the Republic of Slovenia" adopted by the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport in May 2004 will certainly contribute to an improvement in the educational standards of Roma. Towards better integration of the Roma into the educational system early inclusion of Roma children in pre-school institutions will certainly help (at least two years prior to their enrolment in elementary school, i.e. when they are four years of age at the latest). The principal purpose of Roma children’s inclusion in pre-school institutions is language-learning (both Slovene and Roma language) and with this earlier socialisation. Also the appointment of a Roma assistant to the classes with Roma children, introduction of the Roma language lessons in elementary school as an optional subject, permanent in-service training and additional education programs for professionals, non-segregation of Roma pupils etc.

• Employment

Employment is one of the basic preconditions for improving the social and economic status of Roma, ensuring their integration into society. The current situation in the labour market – a relatively high level of unemployment (both structural and regional) – is particularly unfavourable to Roma due to supply and demand imbalances. Only 2 per cent of Roma are employed and approximately 98 per cent are unemployed and receiving social assistance from the state. Many occupy themselves in the so-called grey economy (collecting scrap, gathering wild berries, etc.). Social assistance also has destimulating effects where conditions are being set for beneficiaries to obtain or retain the assistance (regular visits to the Employment Office, active employment seeking, regular sending of children to school, using child benefits for the right purpose (introduction of a functional form)).  This may be settled with social compacts beneficiaries in the active resolution contract of his/her social situation.

6. ORGANIZATION OF THE ROMA ETHNIC COMMUNITY

Experience in working with members of the Roma Community has shown that the endeavours of Slovenia’s national authorities and municipalities cannot achieve optimum results in resolving Roma issues without including Roma themselves in these activities. Roma themselves have already realised that the situation of the Roma Community in the Republic of Slovenia cannot be improved without their cooperation and better organisation in their own ranks. Endeavours of the Office for Nationalities have also focused on organising Roma and establishing Roma societies. To date, 23 Roma societies have been established. Roma societies operate in 19 municipalities (Murska Sobota, Novo Mesto, Velenje, Maribor, Krško, Puconci, Rogašovci, Tišina, Črnomelj, Kočevje, Semič, Metlika, Kuzma, Ljubljana, Črenšovci, Dobrovnik, Cankova, Lendava, Trebnje).

Results from the establishment of Roma societies are not yet satisfactory, as activities are only aimed at culture and cooperation in resolving issues encountered in their environments. An important consequence of attempts to organise Roma was that the community's interests are now represented in municipal administration and municipal councils.

The Roma Union of Slovenia is the umbrella organisation for Roma societies and represents them in dialogues with national authorities. It is also increasingly active in directing and coordinating the activities of Roma societies and organises mass meetings of Roma and other cultural events every year. The Office for Nationalities in the year 2005 provided the Roma Union of Slovenia with means for additional and urgently needed space for its activities located at the same address.

In accordance to the provisions of the Statute of the Roma Union of Slovenia, the "Forum of Roma Councillors" was established at the presidency session in Murska Sobota on 21 November 2002; most elected Roma councillors also attended the session. The Forum of Roma Councillors is a working body within the Roma Union of Slovenia linking Roma councillors and municipalities in which Roma are represented.

The leadership of the Roma societies is the co-speaker on the local level, and the representatives of the Roma Union of Slovenia, which includes all Roma societies, are the co-speakers of the state agencies.

ROMA UNION OF SLOVENIA

Ulica arhitekta Novaka 13

SI – 9000 Murska Sobota

Tel. No.: +386 (02) 53 08 100

Fax No.: +386 (02) 53 08 104

E-mail: romani.union(at)siol.net

President: Jožek Horvat – Muc

7. ACTIVITIES IN THE FIELD OF EDUCATION, CULTURE AND

     INFORMATION SERVICES

Preschool Roma children are enrolled in 40 kindergartens across Slovenia: mainly in Dolenjska region, in Posavje, Bela Krajina, Štajerska and Prekmurje. There are three different ways the Roma children are enroled in preschool education. The majority is being intergrated in general groups, the minority in so called “Roma classes”, where only Roma children are included, and then there are also special all Roma kindergartens.

In the year 2003/2004 there were 1,469 Roma children enroled in primary schools. In the school year 2004/2005 there were 1,547 Roma children enroled in primary schools.

In 2004 the Ministry of Education and Sport mainly financed, among other things, adult Roma education in the municipalities of Kočevje, Murska Sobota and Črnomelj. Subjects: functional and computer education, preservation of Roma traditions, customs and professions, housework skills etc.

Already in 1993 the Ministry of Culture prepared a special program for Roma, which is being cofinanced, monitored and analysed by the Ministry.

To be able to realize the actual needs of the Roma people, the Sector for Cultural Rights of the Minorities and Cultural diversity (within the Ministry of Culture), includes in its work the Roma Union of Slovenia (in the formation of programs and other measures), and it also cooperates with individual cultural societies as well as some Roma individuals.

The Ministry of Culture has so far financed cultural activities provided by different Roma societies, the work of a cultural animator, several performances, several publications, and different lectures on Roma culture, publishing of the newspaper ROMANO THEM – Roma World etc.

An even greater attention is paid to providing information to the Roma and about the Roma. The Roma Community is occasionally provided with information in the Roma language as well. Information concerning Roma issues in the printed media as well as radio and occasional TV programs are aimed at awareness-raising and educating the Roma Community and also providing the majority population with information about the situation, life and problems of the Roma and about their particular features. The media, with the exception of tabloids, have recently treated Roma issues fairly favourably.

Two radio stations; the Murski val from Murska Sobota and the Studio D from Novo mesto have been broadcasting regular weekly programs for the Roma for eight consecutive years. The first one covers the region of Prekmurje, and the second one the regions of Dolenjska, Bela Krajina and Posavje. Both, the Slovene and Roma languages are used in the program, which provides information about the work and life of the Roma, reports on their cultural, sports and other events, including Roma music and original contributions by Roma authors. The program has been well received by the Roma themselves as well as by other audiences. The Office for Nationalities finances radio and TV programs from the budgetary funds of the Republic of Slovenia.

Since 2002 Office for Nationalities has also been financing Roma TV broadcasts. In the region of Prekmurje the cable TV-IDEA from Murska Sobota prepares these broadcasts, and for the region of Dolenjska, Bela Krajina and Posavje it is the TV Vaš Kanal from Novo mesto (the latter has been recently included in the Office for Nationalities' financing) that prepares these type of broadcasts. The contents of these TV broadcasts are similar to Roma radio programs (already described), but the issues broadcast through TV apart from sound carry also picture, and are therfore more easily accepted by broader audience. Both TV stations through regional TV stations exchange distribute their Roma broadcasts also to other interested TV stations in Slovenia. In the future, after the implementation of the Radiotelevizija Slovenija Act (adopted on 15 June 2005, approved on referendum on 25 September 2005), which entered into force on 12 November 2005, also the national RTV will gradually produce Roma radio and TV programs. During the stage of preparation of this act, the Office for Nationalities managed to include in the Article 3 the following provision: "according to this Act public service comprehends creating, preparing, recording and broadcasting …… radio and television broadcasts for the Roma Community (broadcasts for Roma)".

In October 2003 the Roma Union of Slovenia established the ROMIC documentation centre in Murska Sobota, which is involved with library activities and the audio production (documentary archives, radio studio). The Office for Nationalities financed the purchase of the premises from the budget of the Republic of Slovenia.

Information in the Roma language is also provided in writing, e.g. in the Roma newspaper ROMANO THEM – ROMSKI SVET (ROMA WORLD), which is published four times a year by the Roma Union of Slovenia.

For eleven years in a row Roma society Romani Union from Murska Sobota has been periodically publishing the newspaper ROMSKE NOVICE – ROMANO NEVIJPE, which brings news on the society’s activities and other interesting news from the lives of the Roma people. 

In recent years also Roma publishing activities began to flourish.

In July and August 2003 the 9th Roma Camp was organized, for the ninth time in Murska Sobota (14 – 17 July 2003) and for the first time in Novo mesto (1 – 4 August 2003).

On 11 September 2003 first Roma museum in the Republic of Slovenia was opened in the municipality of Črenšovci, in the Roma settlement Kamenci.

In August 2005 the already traditional 11th Roma Camp was organized in Murska Sobota.

In September 2005 the Roma Union of Slovenia together with the Offce for Nationalities organized an international conference on Roma people, in which different state and Roma representatives from Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia and Slovenia participated.

8. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS

The Republic of Slovenia strives to fulfil obligations arising from international documents and other documents, related to the Roma Ethnic Community in the Republic of Slovenia.

The Republic of Slovenia ratified the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities in 1998. At the time of deposit of the instrument of ratification the Republic of Slovenia stated that, in accordance with the Constitution and internal legislation of the Republic of Slovenia, national minorities in the Republic of Slovenia are the autochthonous Italian and Hungarian National Minorities. In accordance with the Constitution and internal legislation of the Republic of Slovenia, the provisions of the Framework Convention shall apply also to the members of the Roma Community, who live in the Republic of Slovenia.

The National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia ratified the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in 2000. In accordance with Article 7, Paragraph 5, of the Charter, the Republic of Slovenia will apply the provisions of Article 7, Paragraphs 1 to 4, also to the Roma language.

The Republic of Slovenia also realizes the special protection of the Roma Community through the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, United Nations’ International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, recommendations and resolutions of the Council of Europe regarding the status of Roma in Europe, and participates actively in the framework of Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe (Roma in the European processes of integration), in the Central European Initiative – CEI etc.

By adopting the Act Amending Local Self-Government Act (Official Gazette, No. 51/02), the Act Amending Local Elections Act (Official Gazette, No. 51/02) and the Voting Rights Register Act (Official Gazette, No. 51/02, …, 11/03) the Republic of Slovenia realised the recommendations of the Resolution of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe on prompt integration of Roma in local communities.

9. CONCLUSION

The representatives of the Roma Community living in Slovenia are still discriminated against, this is a group that is socially handicapped, with poor or without education, therefore it will not be able to improve its status without special measures adopted by all state bodies.

The municipalities where Roma live will need more financial help (according to article 26 of the Financing of Municipalities Act) from the budgetary funds of the Republic of Slovenia, which would mean the realization of the Government decrees from 1999 and the Government Program of Measures for Assisting Roma from 1995. Certain advantage should have the municipalities from Dolenjska, Bela Krajina and Posavje regions, because the housing conditions there are far worse than those in Prekmurje region. But we need to assess that some issues are recently being solved more efficiently, for instant on 7 July 2005 by the Government adopted "Action Program of assistance to municipalities regarding the regulation of most necessary sewage system and water suply infrastructure in Roma settlements".

In the future stimulation towards selforganization of Roma societies in all municipalitis would be necessary, especially in those municipalities where Roma societies still do not exist, seeing that these are the basis of quicker socialization on local level.

The results are better in the field of education, social security, cultural activities and information services of Roma, at the municipal as well as at the state level. But the situation is worse in the field of residental conditions, employment and economic status of Roma, all three connected to poor situation in the field of attained educational level of Roma.  

Experience in working with members of the Roma Community has shown that the endeavours of the Republic of Slovenia and its state bodies and municipalities cannot achieve optimum results in resolving Roma issues without including Roma themselves in these activities. Roma themselves have already realised that the situation of the Roma Ethnic Community in the Republic of Slovenia cannot be improved without their cooperation and better organisation in their own ranks.

The basic act on Roma Community that is currently being prepared will in the future certainly bring great progress in the field of regulating Roma issues, together with already valid sector-specific acts. 

                                                OFFICE FOR NATIONALITIES

                                                              Director

                                                      STANKO BALUH, M.A.