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EUROPEAN ROMA AND TRAVELLERS FORUM
PRESS RELEASE
STOP SINGLING OUT ROMA FOR BIRTH CONTROL, ERTF SAYS
Strasbourg, 28 March 2007: On the occasion of the
organisation by the
International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) of
an international
conference called "Sharing best practices and tools in
addressing the
sexual and reproductive rights of the Roma" in
Bratislava, the
president
of the European Roma and Travellers Forum, Rudko
Kawczynski expressed
concerns about the Federation's plans and motives.
"I am utmost disgusted that IPPF had to choose
Slovakia for the
implementation of one of their pilot projects and as a
place for
today's
venue," Rudko Kawczynski said reminding that Slovakia
had just been
under attacks over alleged forced sterilisations of
Romani women and
that the cases have still not been sufficiently
clarified.
"Choosing Slovakia as a place for this conference and
not even
mentioning the irremediable damage done to Romani
women and communities
comes as an implicit approval of these policies,"
Kawczynski said.
While specifying that he was not opposed to sexual
education and family
planning the president of the European Roma and
Travellers Forum said
that this should take place in the context of
mainstreaming such as
information about contraceptives being provided at
schools.
"The racist character of this initiative becomes
immediately apparent
if
you replace the word 'Roma' by 'Jews' or any other
group. A programme
aimed towards improving the access to contraceptives
for the Hungarian
minority in Slovakia would immediately provoke an
outcry. If the same
is
done for Romani people almost everyone agrees that
something needs to
be
done about their 'uncontrolled' growth," Kawczynski
said.
The aim of the conference was described by the
organisers as "to define
mechanisms, share experiences and best practices from
different
initiatives which could provide a basis for
policymakers and civil
society to address the needs and to promote the rights
of Roma people."
More specifically, the organisers wanted to share the
experiences of
two
pilot projects carried out in Slovakia and Hungary in
the context of
IPPF "Roma project" aimed "at providing accessible and
high quality
sexual and reproductive health services and sexuality
education for
Roma
and other marginalized groups."
The projects seem to receive funding from the European
Commission.
The International Planned Parenthood Federation has
been criticised for
its close ties with the international eugenic
movement. In 1939, the
founder of the organisation, Margaret Sanger launched
two
"demonstration
programs" in America's south aimed to promote family
planning among the
black population. Sanger described the aims of the
"Negro project" as
follows: "We believe birth control knowledge brought
to this group, is
the most direct, constructive aid that can be given
them to improve
their immediate situation." (Margaret Sanger, July
1939)
Spolocnost pre planovane rodicovstvo, the Slovak
partner of IPPF and
implementing agency of the project, describes its
rational as follows:
"The so-called Roma problem in Slovakia has a
historical, cultural and
social background extending beyond territorial
boundaries of Slovakia.
.
According to the analyses made at the meetings
mentioned above, the
high
natality is one of the reasons why the existing
situation is
deteriorated. The high birthrate and multiparity
result in children not
being provided with health care, not obtaining
adequate education and
later in their lives, they are not able to acquit
themselves well on
the
increasingly demanding labour market. A vicious circle
arises, which
continues to expand and brings about growing tension
in the society."
In the same way as the "Negro project", IPPF's Roma
projects rely on
the
active support of so-called community leaders.
Kawcynski called on the EU Commission not to finance
projects which
single out Roma for birth control. "It is an irony
that at a time where
everyone is concerned about Europe's declining
population, Roma are
singled out for programmes of population control.
Instead of
eliminating
poverty these programmes seek to eliminate the poor,
in particular,
Roma."
"Common wisdom teaches us that there is a close link
between the
material situation of a family and the number of
children they have. If
people increase their material well-being they tend to
have fewer
children. Roma are not any different from this," the
president of the
European Roma and Travellers Forum said urging
policy-makers to take
resolute action to improve the living conditions of
Roma.
The European Roma and Travellers Forum is the
international Romani
interest representation which gathers Europe's main
international Roma
organisations and more than 1,500 member organisations
from most of the
Council of Europe member states. In December 2004, the
Forum signed a
partnership agreement with the Council of Europe which
provides for
special relations between both organisations.
Information about the conference:
http://www.socialplatform.org/Events.asp?event=12285
http://cms.horus.be/files/99907/MediaArchive/Events/External_events/Agenda_Roma%
20Conference%20(IPPF%20EN)_28-29March.pdf
For further information about the "Negro Project" by
the American
Planned Parenthood Federation:
http://www.plannedparenthood.org/about-us/who-we-are/margaret-sanger-planned-
parenthood-founder.htm
About the "Roma project" in Slovakia:
http://www.rodicovstvo.sk/ (see: Strategic Plan 2005 -
2008)
About coercive sterilisations of Romani women in
Slovakia:
http://www.reproductiverights.org/pub_bo_slovakia.html#report
www.csce.gov/index.cfm?Fuseaction=Files.Download&FileStore_id=647
For further information and interviews please contact:
European Roma and Travellers Forum
c/o Council of Europe
F - 67 075 Strasbourg
Tel.: 00 33 3 90 21 53 50
Email:
ertf@???
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