News

31 August 2026

Ombudsman Velislava Delcheva visited the town of Kyustendil today at the invitation of the Trust for a Social Alternative Foundation and Kyustendil Municipality, to see for herself the development of the Iztok neighbourhood and to discuss ways of improving housing conditions, infrastructure, education and access to essential services.

During her work visit, the Ombudsman held a meeting with the Mayor of Kyustendil Municipality, Eng. Ognyan Atanasov, at which they discussed the neighbourhood’s development, the need for sustained investment in infrastructure and the housing environment, as well as measures to support children and families.

“I visited Kyustendil because there is a very good example here of how to work and improve living conditions in the Iztok neighbourhood. I realised that, step by step, things have been slowly improving for many years and this is yielding results,” said Velislava Delcheva.

According to her, the progress made in the neighbourhood is the result of the local authority’s commitment, active engagement with the local community and the involvement of Roma mediators in various spheres of public life.

“Every school has Roma mediators, there are social services in the community, a development plan has been drawn up, and work is underway to improve access to healthcare and clean drinking water. We can see that when institutions work together with local residents, all pulling in the same direction, things get done,” said the Ombudsman.

Velislava Delcheva identified the urban planning process, which began in 2017, as a particularly important step towards the neighbourhood’s sustainable development. With the support of the Trust for Social Alternative, Kyustendil Municipality is drawing up a detailed urban development plan which establishes the legal status of the homes of over 1,000 households and paves the way for further infrastructure development.

She also emphasised the fact that an unsettled housing status can create serious difficulties for people in terms of their access to education, employment, address registration and personal documents.

The Ombudsman also referred to the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, according to which, when taking measures to demolish dwellings, the necessity and proportionality of such measures must be assessed.

During her visit, the Ombudsman also met on site with residents of the Iztok neighbourhood, representatives of civil society organisations, mediators and local Roma leaders. The discussions addressed issues relating to housing status, infrastructure, access to education and services, as well as the role of mediators as a vital link between families and institutions.

During her visit, Velislava Delcheva visited the ‘Ivan Vazov’ Primary School, which is attended by around 400 Roma children. She learnt about the need to renovate part of the school facilities and the need for additional support for the pupils and their parents to enable them to continue their education.

The Ombudsman also spoke with young people from the LARGO Association, who presented their work on the ‘We Are in Europe and Europe Is in Us’ project, which aims to empower young people and encourage their civic engagement and participation in local life.