Roma, Sinti, Travellers

Woman holds up keys and smiles while partner looks on surrounded by a crowd

Roma, Sinti, Travellers

Dignity
NOT Discrimination

Background

Who are the Roma?

��Roma�� is used to describe a number of sub-groups, such as Sinti, Kal��, and Gitano, who live in several European countries. Formerly nomadic, the majority are now sedentary.
Roma have been described as "the world's most populous marginalized community". They have been and, during the Second World War, hundreds of thousands were murdered by the Nazi regime.
Roma Holocaust Remembrance Day is marked annually on 2 August. In 2020, Fernand de Varennes, UN Special Rapporteur on minority issues, issued a : "It��s been nearly eight decades after the Nazis killed hundreds of thousands of Roma, who all too frequently have been victims of massacres and other grave human rights violations. Unfortunately, hatred, exclusion and vilification of the Roma still persist today in many parts of the world".

UN Secretary-General Message

Message by Ant��nio Guterres, Secretary-General of the 51�Թ�, to the International Romani Union 2022.

Widespread denial

Roma, Sinti and Travellers face widespread discrimination (and often segregation) in many areas of life including as concerns policing, justice systems and areas such as housing, education, employment and health. In some countries, Roma are dramatically overrepresented among children taken into state care. There is widespread denial that discrimination and racism against Roma exists.

UN Exhibition: Forgotten Victims

The Nazi Genocide of the Roma and the Sinti

The exhibition examines the Nazi genocide against the Roma and Sinti by uncovering stories of some of the affected by the genocide. It explores the struggle that Roma have had in gaining recognition and compensation for the oppression they experienced as a result of this little-known aspect of Nazi persecution. UN Exhibition organized by the Wiener Holocaust Library with support from The Holocaust and the 51�Թ� Outreach Programme.

Photos: UN Exhibits/© Wiener Holocaust Library Collections, Liverpool University Library, Landesarchiv Berlin, Bundesarchiv, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

View exhibit

Margarete Kraus, Czech Roma. Roma man (Jozef Kwiek) in Belzec concentration camp.

Left: Margarete Kraus, Czech Roma. Right: Roma man, thought to be Jozef Kwiek.

Obstacles to successful social inclusion

Pursuant to , in 2015, the UN Human Rights Office supported the in producing a on the human rights situation of Roma worldwide.

The Human Rights Council resolution and the study recognise that — the specific form of racism facing Roma — constitutes a major obstacle to the successful social inclusion of Roma and the full respect of their human rights.

Spotlight: Pushing back at anti-Roma hate speech

Romania passed the first law in Europe to combat hate-speech against the Roma �C the country��s largest ethnic minority.

UN Action

UN Human Rights Office

The UN Human Rights Office works in a number of countries to strengthen the effective exercise of human rights by Roma, Sinti and Travellers. It does this through supporting work to develop government policies on Roma inclusion, strengthening the capacities of Roma �C and in particular Romani women �C to take part in local, regional, national and international decision-making, as well as by working to challenge patterns and practices of discrimination and abuse. A number of Roma rights activists from countries around the world have also taken part in .

Spotlight: Czech Roma community faces up to mask challenge

that are distributed by civil society groups to social care institutions including old people��s homes. The Roma community is not the only Czech minority group taking up the challenge. Refugees, migrants and minorities have also been mobilizing to help out.

Read more:

Where are we?

The about the alarming rise in recent years of intimidation, aggression and violence against Roma minorities, including scapegoating and hate speech through social media. Racial bias and discrimination has resurfaced during the COVID-19 pandemic with false rumours against Roma minorities.

On 2 August we annually remember & Sinti victims of the Holocaust. And we commit to combat anti-Romani racism & discrimination existing today. Many Roma still lack access to basic services, and suffer from police brutality and hate speech.
— UN Human Rights (@UNHumanRights)

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