The Roma are a minority group highly concentrated in East-Central Europe, where they are over-represented among the poor. Possessing lower than average incomes and life expectancies, most Roma live in extreme poverty, trapped at the bottom of a social hierarchy as an underclass. They have been denied basic human rights, treated as second-class citizens, and often become the targets of organized racist violence. As such, it is no surprise that the European Commission, the European Parliament, the Council of Europe, and the World Bank have all shifted Roma issues to the top of their agendas.
Gabor Demszky, former Lord Mayor of Budapest, will explain how the decentralization that followed the transition to democracy in East-Central Europe provides an opportunity to make progress towards Roma integration through local governance. Comments by Nadezhda Mouzykina of the National Democratic Institute will follow.
featuring
Gabor Demszky, Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellow
with comments by
Nadezhda Mouzykina, National Democratic Institute
moderated by
Marc F. Plattner, National Endowment for Democracy
February 18, 2016
03:00 pm – 04:30 pm
1025 F Street, N.W., Suite 800, Washington, D.C. 20004
Telephone: 202-378-9675
