National Action Plan for implementation of the „Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005-2015“, adopted in
2005 with the aim to breake the vicious circle of poverty and exclusion of Roma in the social life of
Montenegro through projects in the field of education, employment, housing and health care. Given
the limited scope of the Action Plan in four priority fields, at the end of 2007, the Government of
Montenegro adopted the Strategy for Improving the Position of the RAE Population in Montenegro
2008-2012, after the expiration of which was prepared a strategic document entitled the Strategy
for Improving the Position of Roma and Egyptians in Montenegro 2012-2016. The strategic
document that preceded the new strategy was called the Strategy for Social Inclusion of Roma and
Egyptians in Montenegro 2016-2020.
Reform activities in the previous five-year period were focused primarily on the development and
implementation of a public policy, which emphasized:
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Solving the housing problems of members of the Roma and Egyptian population;
Regulating the legal status of Roma and Egyptians;
Providing adequate health care, especially for the most vulnerable members of the Roma
and Egyptian populations;
Increasing the presence of the Roma and Egyptian populations in state administration
bodies;
It is especially important to point out the progress made in terms of increasing the number
of Roma and Egyptians taking primary and secondary education;
The vision of the new strategic document is reflected in the need for a complete affirmation of the
Roma and Egyptian communities into the social, economic, cultural and political life of Montenegro.
In this respect, a strategic goal has been defined at the level of the entire public policy, which reads:
Strategic objective
Improving the socio-economic and legal position of Roma and Egyptians in Montenegro,
through the development of an inclusive and open society dedicated to the fight and the
elimination of all forms of discrimination, anti-gypsyism and poverty.
In order to realize the defined strategic objective, it is necessary to establish an adequate systemic
solutions at all levels of society, which will enable a more efficient approach in the fields at which
members of the Roma and Egyptian communities are in the greatest risk. The strategic document is
based on seven basic principles, the meaning of which is reflected in the defining a public policy that
covers all the segments important for enabling equal rights and status to Roma and Egyptians in the
Montenegrin society. The said principles are as follows:
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