Internally displaced people (IDPs) from the Roma community often face unique challenges integrating into their new Ukrainian host communities. To foster discussion on the protection of the rights of Roma communities during wartime, IFES and long-term partner Roma Fund Chiricli organized a roundtable entitled, “Integration of the Roma Community During Wartime” on November 21 in Kyiv. The event was a platform to identify obstacles faced by Roma IDPs in communities and discuss steps needed to protect their rights.

The roundtable discussion assembled the Commissioner for Equal Rights and Freedoms, Rights of National Minorities, Political and Religious Views; the Chairman of the National Council of Ukraine on Television and Radio Broadcasting; a representative of the State Service of Ukraine on Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience; a representative of the Department for Internally Displaced Persons in the Ministry for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories; local government authorities; and, civil society organizations.

During the roundtable discussion, Roma Fund Chiricli presented findings stemming from a Roma sociological survey conducted earlier this year. Chiricli interviewed 500 Roma IDPs from the Dnipro, Zakarpattia, Zaporizhzhia and Odesa regions. The survey identified challenges related to protecting Roma IDP rights and elaborated recommendations to address these problems. Mediators who work closely with Roma in densely populated communities provided their feedback on the current needs of Roma IDPs.

The roundtable discussion served as an opportunity to emphasize the importance of Roma IDP integration and showcase progress on implementing the recently adopted Law on National Minorities of Ukraine as a prerequisite for Ukraine’s European Union accession.