On 18 April 2013, Praxis organized training in Vranje for Roma activists and organizations and representatives of non-governmental organizations working on the protection of human rights. The topic of the training was access to social protection and health care for the members of vulnerable groups. The training was organized as a part of the Project “Access to Social Welfare and Health Protection for Vulnerable Groups in the South of Serbia,” funded by the Fondation Caritas Luxembourgh. The training was attended by 19 Roma activists and representatives of non-governmental organizations from the Pcinja District.

The purpose of the training was to acquaint the participants with the current problems the Roma and internally displaced persons are facing in exercising socioeconomic and other rights, and, at the same time, to empower them to provide adequate assistance to the vulnerable groups. The present participants were acquainted with the obstacles in access to social protection and health care and available mechanisms for overcoming these obstacles. The regulations and legal solutions the implementation of which directly or indirectly affects the exercise of the above-mentioned rights were also presented. Furthermore, the participants had the opportunity to get thoroughly informed about the consequences of lack of personal documents, as well as the difficulties related to registration of permanent residence, newly adopted regulations prescribing the possibility of registration of permanent residence at the address of social welfare centre and the problems occurring in practice as a result of poor implementation of these regulations.

At the final part of the training, the participants took active part in the discussion and expressed their observations and experience in this legal field. Thus, the present participants pointed that it would be necessary to organize a joint meeting of the representatives of local Roma community, social welfare centres and other competent institutions, in order to additionally inform and sensitise the representatives of competent state institutions about the specific characteristics of the living conditions and social position of Roma and internally displaced persons.