30 local self-governments received support from SCTM in social protection and Roma inclusion

Ceremonial signing and awarding of Memorandum of Understanding to the local self-governments selected for implementation of activities in social protection and Roma inclusion was held on October 3, in Belgrade. The support is implemented by Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities (SCTM) within the project "Support to sustainable community-based social services and inclusion policies at the local level", financed by the European Union within the IPA 2020.

Support will be provided to 20 local self-governments selected for provision of support in improvement of local social protection services, which includes professional/technical and financial supporting the establishment/improvement of local planning, legal, financial and institutional mechanisms for planning and implementation of social protection, as well as 10 local self-governments selected for provision of comprehensive support for the establishment/improvement of local mechanisms for Roma inclusion.

On this occasion, State Secretary of Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Policy, Lav Grigorije Pajkić, pointed out that the Ministry is making efforts to improve the social protection system through normative and planning documents and various project activities to improve the quality of services in the local community.

"The Ministry has a very successful cooperation with SCTM, especially in the area of cooperation with local self-governments in the field of social protection. Efforts to improve the living conditions of our citizens is always in the first place and only jointly efforts and undivided enthusiasm we can achieve this goal", concluded Pajkić and added that the Ministry will continue to work on improving the social protection system.

PhD Rejhan Kurtović, State Secretary of Ministry for Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue, stated that the Government of the Republic of Serbia leads a responsible policy in all areas and that support to social inclusion of Roma builds on results achieved in this field at the local level, through the implementation of measures foreseen in the Strategy for social inclusion of Roma in the Republic of Serbia for the period 2022-2030.

"I would like to thank the donors, above all the European Union, for their continuous support as well as partners, primarily the line ministries of finance and labor, employment, veterans' and social policy, then SCTM and local self-governments, as well as civil society organizations, without which it would not be possible to realize everything that was planned through this program," said State Secretary Kurtović.

On behalf of Delegation of European Union to the Republic of Serbia, Plamena Halačeva, Deputy Head of Delegation, addressed the participants and emphasized the marking of 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and stated that it is incredible how much we have achieved as humanity, and at the same time how little is achieved in essential ambitions of the declaration.

"We know that for too many, from 10 to 12 million Roma in Europe, equal rights are not fully ensured. The Roma population still face difficulties in employment and housing, and they also face insults on the street and in the media, and often in public political discourse," said Ms. Halačova.

She underlined that changes are necessary and feasible if public institutions and civil society organizations work together towards equality and equal rights.

Nikola Tarbuk, Secretary General of SCTM said that the organization's plan and determination is to support the improvement of efficiency, quality and coverage of local social protection and social inclusion policies and support equal opportunities for every member of the local community.

"Activities in the field of improving or introducing new local social protection services, i.e., inclusion of Roma men and women in local self-governments, represent a continuation of our previous work on improving the quality of life of the most vulnerable groups, who deserve special attention from society," said Tarbuk.

He emphasized that through this project SCTM will provide comprehensive professional support to towns and municipalities in the establishment and improvement of local planning, legal, financial, and institutional mechanisms for planning and functioning of social protection system at the local level and for introduction and improvement of social protection services, which are based on the needs of their users.

"If the identified needs are taken into account, our conclusion is that the development of a sustainable local framework for implementation of policies and services in the field of social protection should be continued, with care that no one is left behind," concluded SCTM Secretary General Nikola Tarbuk.

The implementation of this project will create conditions for improving the quality and scope of social protection services and encouraging the inclusion of vulnerable and marginalized groups, especially the Roma population at the local level, which will contribute to improving the effectiveness of social inclusion policies to encourage equal opportunities and active participation of women and men.

The contracting authority is the Ministry of Finance - Sector for contracting and financing of EU programs, the responsible ministry for project implementation is the Ministry of Labor, Employment, Veterans and Social Affairs, while the Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities (SCTM) oversees project implementation.

Supported local governments for the improvement of social protection are Ada, Aleksinac, Arandjelovac, Babušnica, Bela Palanka, Beočin, Blace, Kragujevac, Kruševac, Odžaci, Paraćin, Petrovac na Mlavi, Rača, Raška, Smederevska Palanka, Svrljig, Šid, Tutin, Uzice and Vrnjačka Banja.

Supported local governments selected to receive comprehensive support for the inclusion of Roma are: Čačak, Kanjiža, Kikinda, Novi Beograd, Obrenovac, Požega, Sečanj, Vrbas, Vrnjačka Banja and Žabalj.