Feedback In early August the obmudsman in the Chelyabinsk region, Alexei Sevastyanov, visited a Roma settlement in Shagol. ADC Memorial has attracted attention of the municipalities to the status of the residents of the settlement many times. Last time ADC Memorial had to call upon international human rights organisation in order to prevent the demolition of houses and forced eviction of Roma families. However, the status of the land and houses is still unclear and unstable.
While visiting the Roma settlement, the ombudsman paid attention to the Roma problems with medicine, education, housing and civil documents. He also underlined that local authorities should make more efforts to solve these problems. For instance, it was agreed that from September the Federal migration service (FMS) workers together with the representatives of the ombudsman will be receiving the residents of the settlement in order to help obtaining the documents.
ADC Memorial has been cooperating with a human rights activist, Nadezhda Kutepova, in Shagol. She regularly gives legal consultations, helps the residents of the settlement realising their rights and obtaining the documents – passports and certificates of birth.
Recently Nadezhda Kutepova helped a 16-year Romani girl in proving the fact of birth and obtaining the documents in a judicial proceeding. Besides that, Nadezhda is considering possible help for large Romani families on the basis of recently adopted law in the Chelyabinsk region. This law prescribes the right of large families to the land.
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