Czech Govt Inter-ministerial Commission on Romani Community Affairs reviews budget cuts in first 2012 session

The main topic of the first meeting of the Czech Government’s Inter-ministerial Commission on Romani Community Affairs (Rada vlády pro záležitosti romské menšiny – RVZRM) this year was the proposed financing of Romani integration planned for 2012, which has been halved compared to last year.The civil society members of the Commission, Romani individuals from the various regions of the Czech Republic, demanded an explanation for the cuts.

The Commission also discussed the situation in the Šluknov district, pro-inclusion reforms in the Czech schools, the impact of reforms to the social services system, and progress in the area of fulfilling the Government’s Strategy for the Fight against Social Exclusion 2011 – 2015. The meeting was attended by the Commission’s chair, Czech Prime Minister Petr Nečas, and was run by the Executive Vice-Chair of the Commission, Czech Government Human Rights Commissioner Monika Šimůnková.

The meeting opened by welcoming new civil society members Jan Balog, Jiří Daniel, and Věra Horváthová, who were appointed by the Government on 14 March 2012. The Commission then discussed new candidates for another empty civil society seat on the Commission and nominated journalist Patrik Banga to that position.

“The members of the Commission also appointed Lýdia Poláčková to the position of Vice-Chair of the Monitoring Committee of the Czech Government Agency for Social Inclusion in Romani Localities. They also heard a report on the activities of the Czech Government Human Rights Commissioner in support of Romani people and a report on the activities of the Office of the Czech Government Inter-ministerial Commission on Romani Community Affairs,” reads the report on the meeting published on the website of the Government of the Czech Republic.

Members of the Commission spent the most time on discussing the proposed subsidies for 2012, which are allocated through three programs supporting Romani integration that are run by the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic. As part of its”Support for Field Social Work” program, the Commission approved a proposal to support 40 subsidy requests with a total of CZK 10 million. As part of its “Program for the Prevention of Social Exclusion and Community Work”, managers from the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic recommended supporting 31 projects with a total of CZK 9 850 000. They also recommended that the program “Support for Coordinators for Romani Affairs” support 13 projects with a total of almost CZK 5 million. Members of the Commission also discussed the fact that the amount of financing allocated in the state budget for Romani integration has been steadily falling.

“In 2010, CZK 23 million were redistributed as part of the ‘Program for the Prevention of Social Exclusion and Community Work’. In 2011, that program received only CZK 19 million. This year, 2012, it received only CZK 9.5 million. The civil society members understandably asked why there had been such a drastic reduction to the financing for 2012. The Human Rights Commissioner told us it occurred as part of cuts to the budget of the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic. It is also possible that these subsidies will be entirely eliminated in 2013. This information about 2013 is news to the members of the RVZRM and naturally we will be holding further negotiations with the Human Rights Commissioner and the chair of the Commission on this topic,” Lenka Balogová, a member of the Commission, told news server Romea.cz.

Balogová’s statement was confirmed by Jan Balog, a recently reappointed member of the Commission. “Unfortunately I must say that there really has been a reduction in the amount of financing from the state budget being invested into Romani integration. The cuts have occurred in particular to the ‘Program for the Prevention of Social Exclusion and Community Work’. At the last meeting of our Commission we agreed to conduct intensive negotiations on this situation both with the Human Rights Commissioner and with the Prime Minister,” Balog told news server Romea.cz.

Another closely followed topic was the development of the situation in the Šluknov district, where relations between the majority society and the Romani minority were brought to the breaking point during the second half of last year. The director of the Czech Government Agency for Social Inclusion in Romani Localities presented an analysis aimed at mapping the causes of the recent escalation of local conflicts and tensions in Šluknov district. The Agency’s analysis of migration trends into the district confirmed that the problem of migration in the region is not as significant as the Czech media originally reported. Rather, the social situation of excluded residents is deteriorating and local social services do not have the capacity to address that deterioration.

The Czech Government Human Rights Commissioner also reported on the conclusions of an “Evaluation of the Procedure of the State Administration toward Addressing the Situation in Šluknov District”, which attempted to map the activities of key ministries, in particular the Czech Interior Ministry, Labor and Social Affairs Ministry, Regional Development Ministry, the Czech Government Human Rights Commissioner, the Police Presidium of the Czech Republic, the Ústí Regional Authority, and local municipalities addressing the situation in Šluknov district. The material describes the ineffective, uncoordinated procedure of the public administration during its handling of the rising tensions in the region. The civil society members of the Commission identified with the conclusions of the evaluation and discussed what sorts of activities the Commission itself and its members should undertake in order to improve the situation not just in the Šluknov district, but also in other areas of the Czech Republic.

According to Jan Balog, the Czech Government Agency for Social Inclusion in Romani Localities has functioned very well in the Šluknov district. “In collaboration with the local municipality a project was created there to employ 26 people who have long been out of work. The other information we have also speaks to the fact that the region has long been neglected,” Balog said.

In Balog’s view it has been proven that it is primarily local governments that have solutions available to them for addressing the problems of socially excluded people. “If a municipality lets the problems of local people grow out of control, it is the municipality that must get involved in solving them, as they are doing in Šluknov district. The same applies across the board to the entire country. A community should take an active approach to these problems, particularly the education and employment of people from socially excluded localities. I personally believe it is a great shame that the Agency does not have even more powers to enlist the state administration system in this,” Balog told news server Romea.cz.

Lenka Balogová also believes local governments are primarily responsible for seeking solutions to the problem of socially excluded localities. “Some of the civil society members of the Commission actively participate in previous negotiations on the situation in Šluknov district. The creation of the Agency was initiated by the RVZRM in order to support social inclusion in various localities and it should be understood as a support instrument for towns and villages,” Balogová told news server Romea.cz.

The progress made by the Czech Education Ministry toward pro-inclusion reforms of the Czech schools and the fulfillment of strategic documents aimed at increasing educational opportunities for Romani people is a regular agenda item for the Commission. Another topic discussed was the impact of social services reforms on the residents of excluded localities. Czech Labor and Social Affairs Minister Jaromír Drábek presented the results of the ministry’s “Analysis of the Impact of Budget Cuts in the Social Affairs Area on the Residents of Socially Excluded Localities” to the Commission. The Commission also heard about progress toward fulfilling various measures of the Strategy for the Fight against Social Exclusion 2011 – 2015 and about a comprehensive project for social inclusion adopted by the city of Ostrava.