This event was organized in cooperation with Voice of Romni, with the support of the Gender in Humanitarian Action Working Group (GiHA WG) and as a result of our organization’s advocacy efforts.

The President of Voice of Romni, Anzhelika Bielova, is currently facilitating the Preparatory Meeting for the dialogue between Roma organizations and the UN System.

Roma leaders from different regions of Ukraine took part in the event, alongside representatives of UNHCR, CARE, and the NGO Divchata — co-chairs of the GiHA Working Group.

The goal of this dialogue is to expand opportunities and strengthen support for Roma communities in Ukraine, discuss key challenges, needs, and capacities of Roma organizations, and reinforce cooperation with international partners.

On the first day of the Thematic Dialogue, Roma leaders shared their experiences of working during the war in Ukraine.

“We provided Roma organizations with an opportunity to present their work, as they are often overlooked by international partners — particularly grassroots Roma organizations. We also discussed the progress on recommendations delivered to UN agencies during previous dialogues two and a half years ago, analyzed both achievements and gaps, and jointly developed new proposals to enhance coordination with the UN,” said Anzhelika Bielova.

It is important for us to cooperate directly with UN agencies, as we believe that Roma voices must be included in all key processes led by the United Nations — particularly in ensuring access to humanitarian assistance and early recovery in Ukraine. This is essential to achieve a gender-sensitive and inclusive recovery of our country that takes into account the needs of Roma communities.

During the war, UN support is especially important for Roma organizations, including Voice of Romni, as the assistance of our partners enables us to respond to humanitarian needs and strengthen the participation of Roma representatives in decision-making and Ukraine’s recovery processes.

“We also developed recommendations to support the work of regional coordination groups involved in implementing the Roma Strategy — and there are already some positive results. We are grateful to our partners from UN Women in Ukraine, CARE Ukraine, and the GiHA Working Group for supporting us in making the regional Roma Strategy plans more contextualized and responsive to the real needs of Roma men and women at the local level,” added Anzhelika Bielova.

During the first day, we also discussed additional issues and recommendations for the UN Country Team in Ukraine, which will be presented during the roundtable on November 13. Another day of dialogue lies ahead — tomorrow, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine, Matthias Schmale, will join the discussions. We look forward to productive work that will further strengthen cooperation and support for Roma organizations in Ukraine.