RESOLUTION ON
PROMOTING POLICIES ON EQUALITY BETWEEN WOMEN AND MEN OF THE ROMA POPULATION
1. Considering that:
(a) Gender equality is a fundamental right and a fundamental principle of the European Union and therefore one of its indispensable objectives.
(b) Gender equality is essential to achieving the objectives set in terms of economic and social cohesion, high levels of employment and social protection, and sustainable growth.
(c) The European Union cannot afford to ignore the human capital, capacity and talent offered by women.
(d) Discrimination on the ground of sex destroys the lives of individuals, is detrimental to the economy and society as a whole, and undermines support for and confidence in the fundamental European value of gender equality and the rule of law.
(e) Equality of opportunities for women and men and the protection of their human rights are essential to peace, sustainable democracy and economic development, and hence to security and stability in the OSCE area,
2. Recalling the OSCE Action Plan for the Promotion of Gender Equality,
3. Recalling the Beijing Platform of Action and resolution 1325 (2000) of the United Nations Security Council, both of which call for the equal participation and full involvement of women,
4. Having regard to the European Parliament resolution of 1 June 2006 on the situation of Roma women in the European Union,
5. Considering that women from ethnic minorities and especially Roma women face much more serious multiple discrimination than men from the same ethnic group or women from the majority, that the employment rate of Roma women is lower than that of Roma men, and that, given their role in the family, women can be the cornerstones of the integration of marginalized women,
6. Considering that the Roma woman, in her role as a transmitter of values, has helped to keep culture alive and to maintain traditions and values, thereby safeguarding the heritage,
56 7. Emphasizing that for the past two decades Roma women have been claiming a space of their own for Roma values that does not imply any loss, without forgetting that they have been declaring that the genuine promotion of the Roma people requires the committed participation of Roma women, without any forfeiting of cultural identity,
The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly:
8. Encourages the participating States to offer equality of educational opportunity to the sons and daughters of the Roma.
9. Asks the participating States to favour the continuity of Roma women in their school careers.
10. Further requests the participating States to promote assistance for retaining Roma women at university and to foster university access for those over 25 years old.
11. Encourages the sponsoring of positive action measures permitting the incorporation and promotion of Roma women in the labour market.
12. Asks the participating States to promote positive action measures in order to afford Roma women their opportunity in the various public and private institutions.
13. Asks the participating States to promote policies aimed at reconciling family and working life and to advance knowledge of suitable family planning that favours and balances motherhood and personal and social development.
14. Asks the participating States to establish a permanent Observatory to defend the public image of Roma women.
15. Asks the participating States to promote equal opportunities for Roma women in politics, at university, in trade unions, in associations and in every other ambit of society.
16. Further asks the participating States to involve Roma women in drawing up equality plans for contemplation of the proposals as an ethnic minority, and to support the demands and initiatives of the various Roma women’s associations.
17. Asks the participating States to establish opportunities for raising the awareness of Roma women with respect to education for health through prevention, supporting activities that contribute to improving the health of women.
18. Asks the member countries to support the demand of Roma women for participation in the work of the various national and international bodies addressing the situation of Roma women.
57 19. Invites the OSCE participating States and the OSCE institutions to report on progress made in meeting the commitments set out in this resolution.
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