The settlements populated compactly or jointly by Romanies will have community mediators who will be persons of Roma origin from the community. These persons will be responsible for effectively ensuring the Romanies’ access to education, health and social assistance services. They will also deal with the employment of the Roma and the improvement of their living conditions. A bill to this effect was passed by the legislative body in the March 21 sitting, IPN reports.
The authors of the bill said the employment of community mediators in settlements populated compactly or jointly by Romanies is a successful practice used in a number of European states and is recommended for implementation by the European Commission. Under the bill, the main duty of the community mediators is to inform the Roma about the opportunities of strengthening the social and economic integration process.
Community mediators now work in about 25 settlements. They are supported financially by UNDP Moldova. At the request of the Ministry of Labor, Social Protection and Family, UNDP Moldova is finishing mapping the settlements that are densely populated by Romani people so as to determine the number of Romanies there and the number of necessary mediators. According to estimates, community mediators will have to be employed in 47 settlements. 31,000 lei will be needed to remunerate a mediator annually.
A sum of 462,600 lei was earmarked in the 2013 state budget for the purpose. This amount will enable to employ 15 community mediators at the current stage.
