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Speech

Slovakia – 2011

Delegate: Ms. Monika Mareková (23 years)

26. Ms. Mareková (Slovakia), speaking as a youth delegate, said that while much attention was being paid internationally to the subject of education, very little attention was afforded to the education of minorities in particular, whereas their education was key to preserving their cultural heritage, language and traditions. The education of minorities must be inclusive and culturally appropriate in order to prevent conflict between majority and minority populations, combat xenophobia and reduce marginalization and thus the likelihood of minority youth resorting to violence, a growing phenomenon in Europe.

27. The Roma was one of the largest ethnic minorities in Slovakia and in Europe as a whole. The issue of their education affected not only the countries where the Roma lived, but had cross-border implications which made it a pressing international concern. Although the Goal for all children to complete primary education by 2015 would officially be achieved in Europe, that only reflected majority groups, whereas an alarming number of Roma children in Europe were nowhere near achieving it. Aware of the urgency in tackling those and other issues, her Government had developed a strategy for tackling Roma-related problems, focusing inter alia on access to education for Roma children and eliminating segregated education, a practice through which Roma children received substandard education in schools for students with mental disabilities. She urged the international community to act on the urgent matter of the education of minorities, as her Government could not effectively address such a complex matter on its own. In that respect, an international platform for States to exchange information and experience related to the education of minorities was needed, with efforts focusing on both formal and informal education to ensure the full inclusion of minorities in society.

UN Doc.: A/C.3/66/SR.4

Original Records

Cite as:
UN Doc.: A/C.3/66/SR.4, 4 October 2011, p. 5, Youth Delegate Search: https://youthdelegatesearch.org/slovakia-2011/, doi: 10.17176/20221018-193908-0.

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