MEDIATION PRACTICES OF THE INTERNATIONAL CHARITABLE FOUNDATION “CHIRIKLI” AND MONITORING GROUPS: EXPERIENCE OF JOINT WORK WITH ROMA COMMUNITIES DURING THE WAR

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of the activities of the network of Roma women mediators of the Chirikli Charity Foundation and their synergy with field monitoring groups. Based on the results of focus group interviews, the transformation of Roma women’s leadership, the problems of “double vulnerability” of internally displaced persons and the effectiveness of the tandem model of human rights protection in martial law conditions are investigated. The role of the activities of the Chirikli women mediators in overcoming the systemic challenges faced by Roma communities is substantiated. Their work is based on the principle of informal social mediation between Roma internally displaced persons, humanitarian structures and state authorities. The effectiveness of this model is due to the phenomenon of a “shared life world”: a commonality of social, cultural and traumatic experience, which provides mediators with an unprecedented level of trust from the community. The importance of the work of monitoring groups has been proven, whose experts, in cooperation with mediators, contribute to solving social, legal and humanitarian problems faced by Roma communities. The tandem interaction model has high potential for scaling up, which can become the basis for developing a national strategy for social inclusion of vulnerable groups, studying the possibilities of digitalizing the work of mediators (implementing electronic needs monitoring systems) and analyzing the long-term impact of female leadership on the development of local self-government in Roma settlements. The integration of this experience into state policy will contribute not only to the protection of human rights, but also to the development of an inclusive Ukrainian society, where each community has effective tools for self-presentation and protection of its interests.