Round table ’The Issue of Legalisation of Roma Informal Settlements’

The round table titled ’The Issue of Legalisation of Roma Informal Settlements’ organised by the SASA Board for the Study of Life and Customs of the Roma will take place on Thursday, 19 February, at the SASA Hall 3, at 11 a.m.

Over the course of the last several decades, illegal construction in Serbia was tolerated as a form of ’informal social policy’. This phenomenon’s roots lie in the state’s inability to provide decent accommodation for all its citizens. All previous attempts of the Republic of Serbia to legalise illegal structures resulted in failure, with an inconsequential number of Roma people solving their problems through such processes.

The above-mentioned round table is organised at a time when the new Law on Special Conditions for the Registration and Entry of Rights in Immovable Property has come into force in Serbia, which has direct and far-reaching consequences for the position of Roma settlements and the legal security of their residents. Through dialogue among representatives of state institutions, the academic community, civil society organisations and relevant international stakeholders, the round table aims to address questions of long-term and sustainable solutions for the legalisation of informal Roma settlements. A practical approach will be emphasised in particular, alongside a review of previous initiatives related to lex specialis regulations concerning the legalisation of Roma settlements.