The project ‘Building Dialogue and Mutual Understanding between the Police and the Roma Community’ is being implemented by the NGO ‘Roma Women’s Fund “Chirikli”‘ in partnership with the Human Rights Protection Department of the National Police of Ukraine, with the support of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Recognizing the importance of establishing dialogue with Roma communities and improving understanding regarding the respect and protection of the rights of all individuals, especially those in social isolation or suffering from discrimination, the NGO ‘Chirikli’ with the support of the German Embassy in Ukraine and in the framework of the Strategy for the Protection and Integration of the Roma National Minority into Ukrainian Society for the period up to 2020, approved by Decree of the President of Ukraine No. 201/213 of April 8, 2013, is implementing a series of activities including training, focus groups, and joint informal meetings for representatives of the prevention and investigation sectors of the National Police of Ukraine and Roma communities in Kyiv, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Odesa, Zakarpattia, Luhansk, and Donetsk regions from June to December 2019.
The aim of these activities is to increase the knowledge level of police officers regarding the specifics of working with the Roma population (including history and culture of Roma) at the local level; to raise awareness about the importance of conducting a range of preventive measures and understanding the ethno-cultural characteristics of Roma communities that need to be considered when interacting with them, taking them into account in the work of the National Police of Ukraine; from a values perspective, the planned activities also aim to develop sensitivity and attention to vulnerable categories of society; to increase the awareness of police officers about the legislation of Ukraine and international legal documents related to combating ethnic discrimination (including decisions of the European Court of Human Rights regarding the protection of Roma in Ukraine and standards of the Council of Europe, OSCE, and the UN); and to establish trust and mutual understanding between the police officers and the Roma community.
