The delegates agreed on the Strasbourg Declaration, which includes the following principles and priorities:
a) Non-discrimination
b) Social inclusion, including education, housing and healthcare
c) Empowerment and better access to justice
In addition, it was decided to create a new European training programme for Roma mediators, who will give legal and administrative advice to the Roma communities. About 440 mediators will be trained this year, and hopefully this number will rise to over 1000 in 2011. The Council of Europe also plans to train about 100 lawyers in 2011. The mediators and lawyers will work to protect the human and social rights of Roma and to link the Roma communities and civil society. The Council of Europe also wants to develop relevant cooperation with other international organizations and national, regional and local authorities to improve the situation of Roma.
Norway was represented by the Secretary of State for Government Administration, Reform and Church Affairs, Mr Raimo Valle. He pointed out that though he Roma group in Norway is very small, it is still facing many of the same challenges as Roma elsewhere in Europe. Mr. Valle praised the Council of Europe for its ability to react “rapidly and with great flexibility” on this topic. Valle also underlined Norway’s full support of the Strasbourg Declaration.
Read Mr. Valle's speech here