Police and Roma – Effective and Human Rights-Compliant Policing

International human rights standards and effective policing practices will be the focus of a two-day training course for 20 Ukrainian police officers, which is organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) on 15 and 16 August 2019 in Kyiv.

The course will provide participants with the opportunity to strengthen their understanding of effective policing practices and of the need to respect and protect the rights of all persons, particularly those who are excluded or discriminated against, such as Roma and Sinti. The course also aims at promoting trust and understanding between Roma and the police.

The 2003 Action Plan on Improving the Situation of Roma and Sinti within the OSCE Area acknowledged the importance of building trust between Roma and Sinti and the police. Following up on its mandate, ODIHR developed training tools for police, to enable them in their work addressing hate crimes, violence and discrimination against Roma and Sinti.

The training is organized as part of ODIHR’s project “Advancing the Human Dimension of Security in Ukraine”, designed to address important human rights issues in the country.