Police and Roma – Effective and Human Rights-Compliant Policing

International human rights standards and effective policing practices will be at the core of a four-day train-the-trainer course for 18 teaching staff from the Police Academy and police schools in Romania.

The training will help the participants strengthen their understanding of the relevance and benefits of effective policing that respects and protects the rights of all, including those excluded or discriminated against, such as Roma. The course aims to build the capacity of national police institutions to deliver the ODIHR training independently to law enforcement students and personnel across the country.

The course is following up on previous co-operation between ODIHR and the General Inspectorate of the Romanian Police initiated in 2014 with a Memorandum of Understanding. Fourty national police officers and commanders have since received the training.

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 communities and the police. Following up on its mandate, ODIHR developed training tools for police, to assist them in their work addressing hate crimes, violence and discrimination against Roma and Sinti.