Poverty, Social exclusion and consequences of weak, unconnected systems of social protection are the three main problems that need to be resolved to ensure the rights for children in Bosnia and Herzegovina, said Steven Allen, Regional Director of UNICEF for Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

Numerous civil associations and nongovernmental organisations from Serbia reacted over the past week with demands to pacify the situation in the village of Jabuka, near Pančevo, where the local Roma community has been exposed to days of intimidation and attacks by the locals seeking revenge for the murder of a young man of non-Roma background.

Yesterday’s police action in the open market in Skopje's Šuto Orizari borough, in the attempt to confiscate forged and knock-off consumer goods, turned into a several hours of riots and clashes between the local population and the riot police. A total of 17 policemen and more than 40 citizens were injured in the clashes, in which the locals three rocks at the riot police, which used tear-gas in the attempt to dissipate the mob.

On Thursday, April 8, the International Day of the Roma was marked all over the world. Once again, we got reminded, as it usually happens, of the appalling social status and poverty of the majority of Roma population in the world and the Balkans, the discrimination they face in education, employment, the society in general.

The L. Boltzmann Institute of Human Rights (BIM-FV) invites civil society organizations active in the field of poverty reduction and social inclusion, e.g. NGOs, foundations, unions and other relevant actors as social workers, researchers, etc. to participate in building of the Macedonian Anti-Poverty Platform.

In the framework of the project “Social Inclusion and Human Rights in Macedonia”, funded by the Austrian Development Agency, BIM-FV will support the establishment of such a platform, which will serve as a link between Macedonia and the rest of Europe in fighting poverty and social exclusion.

On the occasion of December 18, the International Migrant Day, the Social Watch network presents its first European Social Watch Report 2009 - Migrants in Europe as Development Actors: Between Hope and Vulnerability.

The exhibition of posters submitted for the Second International Poster Competition Power vs. Poverty will open today, Friday, November 27, 2009, at 20:00, at the Museum of City of Skopje.