5 November 2024 - As part of the celebrations for the World Roma Language Day, the book Roma in the Republic of Croatia by authors Branka Arlović and Dr Mato Arlović, Judge, was presented today at the Roma Education and Cultural Centre. In his opening speech, President Dr Šeparović briefly outlined the content of the book, which systematically deals not only with the rights and freedoms of Roma, but also with the rights of national minorities in general, as well as with the sources of law, the content of the rights and freedoms of national minorities and their constitutional status. In his further address he emphasised the Constitutional Court's commitment to protecting the constitutional rights of all national minorities in Croatia and recalled that the Constitution demands tolerance and understanding from the Croatian people as a majority and requires a constant reminder of the values of the Constitution and of the limits of permissible behaviour towards minorities. He agreed with the authors that Croatia still has much to do to completely eliminate the unfavourable, discriminatory and marginalising position of the Roma national minority and ensure their equal inclusion in Croatian society. He concluded by emphasising that we must all work to achieve this - both the institutions and society as a whole, but also the Roma community itself.
