The Roma in Georgia

UNCLAS TBILISI 000819

DEPT FOR EUR/CARC, EEB

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM KPAO GG
SUBJECT: The Roma in Georgia

REF: A) STATE 30437, B) 08 Tbilisi 0589


1. (SBU) Summary: In response to reftel marking International Roma
Day, the Embassy posted the Secretary's message on its website and
took the opportunity to meet with the Executive Director of the
Human Rights Center in Georgia and a representative of the Civil
Registry of the Ministry of Justice to follow-up on last year's
report on the situation of the Roma in Georgia (Ref B). In sum, the
Roma remain isolated from the rest of Georgian society and the
public services available to registered residents including
education and health services.


2. (SBU) The OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities reports
approximately 2,250 Roma reside in Georgia, about 0.05 percent of
the total Georgian population (from "Recent Migration of Roma in
Europe, December 10, 2008"). Ucha Nanuashvili, Executive Director of
the Human Rights Center in Georgia, agrees with the figure. The
majority of Georgian Roma live in two locations in Tbilsi: Lotkin
Hill and Navtlugi Bazar in the Samgori district. Lotkin Hill
residents came to Georgia between 1920-1930 and identify themselves
as Moldovans, perhaps because that is how they were registered by
the Soviets. A large portion of the Roma living in the Navtlugi
neighborhood may be IDPs from Abkhazia, but lack documentation to
verify this. Navtlugi is also home to a group of 100-200 Muslim Roma
who came to Georgia in the 1980's as refugees from
Nagorno-Karabakh.

Unwillingness to Register Yields Hurdles


3. (SBU) Nanuashvili of the Human Rights Center in Georgia pointed
out that there is little official support for the Roma in Georgia as
they are not registered with the government and, without
documentation, they cannot access health care and education. His
office has documented this problem for the Ministry of Justice and
the Civil Registry but, in a country currently supporting 54,000
internally displaced people from the 2008 conflict (UNHRC Briefing
Notes 12/09/08),the small Roma population falls further down on the
list of immediate government priorities.


4. (SBU) According to Nanuashvili, in Georgia the main occupations
of the Roma are selling and reselling small items at markets,
begging and petty crime. Tbilisi Roma society is closed and is
subordinated to a community leader, whose identity is usually kept
secret. Most Roma children do not go to school and start earning
money for their families at an early age. Directly related to the
lack of education and relevant vocational skills, the main problem
for the Roma population in Georgia is its lack of official
documentation. Most Roma do not have documentation including birth
certificates, as children are usually not born at hospitals.
Nanuashvili believed that the Roma community does not aspire to get
documents. The lack of proper documents also makes social services
including, primarily health care, education, and vulnerability
allowances unavailable to the Roma community.

Ministry of Justice Seeks to Document


5. (SBU) A Representative of the Civil Registry of the Ministry of
Justice told poloff that the Ministry is working to register
undocumented residents from a variety of ethnic minorities
populations of entire mountain villages that have never previously
been documented. Registering the Roma presents unique challenges due
to their unique language, frequent geographic movement - some more
nomadic than stable, and quality of information that can be used to
verify a person's place and year of birth. Giorgi Vashadze, Head of
the Civil Registry explained that the registration of the Roma
requires deep and sensitive discussion on a case by case basis until
Qrequires deep and sensitive discussion on a case by case basis until
some kind of determination can be made for registration of each
individual. It is possible but requires interest on the part of the
Roma as well. Until they are registered they do not
bureaucratically exist "- they are not even stateless." He
encouraged the Embassy to support a local NGO's efforts with UNHCR
to register isolated populations in Georgia as a way of increasing
political will on both sides.


6. (SBU) For the Roma, the vicious cycle of isolation is hard to
break, but can still be overcome with sufficient will on the part of
the civil society, the government and the Roma themselves. Post has
encouraged grant proposals for the Julia Taft Grant, which addresses
refugees, vulnerable populations and returns, as welcome. We will
work to identify NGOs which could utilize this important resource.

TEFFT