A/HRC/44/51/Add.1 76. According to data from a European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights survey conducted in 2011, about 20 per cent of Roma respondents 16 years of age and older said that they could not read or write, compared with less than 1 per cent of the non-Roma respondents living close by. Indeed, 43 per cent of school-age Roma children surveyed did not attend school.50 77. The experts were informed by the Ministry of Education of a project on the integration and education of Roma children, which is part of the operational programme on human resources development, education and lifelong learning, funded jointly with the European Social Fund of the European Commission. It is being implemented by three universities, namely, the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, which is the main beneficiary and has the overall responsibility for the project’s implementation, the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and the University of Thessaly. The project runs from 2016 to 2020 and is aimed at enhancing access for Roma children to, and attendance at, nursery and primary school, and supporting Roma young people and Roma adults who have dropped out of school in completing primary education. The programme also includes the implementation of school psychology programmes aimed at preventing school dropout at the primary and secondary levels.51 78. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women expressed its concern about the very low level of school attendance and the high dropout rates among Roma and migrant girls and those belonging to the Muslim minority group in Thrace and about the lack of data, disaggregated by sex, region and minority, on enrolment at the preschool, primary, secondary and tertiary levels. The Committee was also concerned about the prevalence of studies oriented towards traditional career paths among girls and about the low level of their participation in technical-vocational areas.52 79. Roma women have very limited access to employment and economic opportunities, due to high rates of early marriage and school drop-out among Roma girls. During the visit, the experts of the Working Group were inspired by individual school principals who were working with families to support Roma girls to stay in school. 80. The experts met with Roma women who shared their stories and concerns. A Roma woman told the experts: “We have a lot of problems, but there are no ears that can listen to us [or that] can hear us. We have been trying for years to live better lives.” 81. The lack of statistical data on the enjoyment of human rights by Roma people, in particular Roma women, is of concern. In 2016, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination recommended that Greece diversify its data collection activities, on the basis of anonymity and self-identification of persons and groups, to provide an adequate empirical basis for policies to enhance the equal enjoyment by all of the rights enshrined in the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. The Committee noted that reliable, detailed socioeconomic information was necessary for the monitoring and evaluation of policies in favour of minority groups and for assessing the level of implementation of the Convention. The Working Group reiterates that recommendation. 82. The experts welcome the positive steps taken by the Greek authorities in recent years to improve the situation of Roma women, including the creation of the Special Secretariat for Roma Social Inclusion. A focus on implementation and monitoring will be essential to ensuring that it delivers on its objectives. C. Women in prison 83. The experts of the Working Group visited the largest women’s prison in Greece and were pleased by efforts to uphold women’s human rights in detention, including through 50 51 52 European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, Roma survey – Data in focus – Education: the situation of Roma in 11 EU Member States (Luxembourg, Publications Office of the European Union, 2014). Available at https://fra.europa.eu/sites/default/files/fra-2014_romasurvey_education_tk0113748enc.pdf, p. 11. Information provided by the Ministry of Education. CEDAW/C/GRC/CO/7, para. 26. 17