Strasbourg, 17.12.2008 – The “Dosta! - Congress Prize for Municipalities” for 2008 has been awarded to four cities, as part of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities’ contribution to the Dosta! Campaign. The Prize, established in 2007, rewards municipalities which are distinguished for their participatory and innovative work in combating anti-Gypsyism and promoting the inclusion of Roma in political and social life.

The jury, composed of personalities from the Council of Europe, the European Union and the European Roma and Travellers Forum, has examined 26 applications from Western and Eastern European countries. Speaking at the close of the deliberations, the co-Presidents of the jury – Yavuz Mildon, President of the Congress and Henry Scicluna, Council of Europe Co-ordinator for Roma Issues – expressed the jury’s common appreciation, stressing that “much as in 2007, we all were particularly impressed with the quality of the projects sent in.”

Joint statement of the EU Fundamental Rights Agency and the Council of Europe's Commissioner for Human Rights on the Durban review conference.

Do not miss the opportunity to step up the global fight against racism and discrimination!

The Council of Europe's Commissioner for Human Rights and the Director of the European Union's Fundamental Rights Agency jointly call on European governments to remain engaged in the preparations for a United Nations review conference against racism in April 2009.

"Racism is a global phenomenon. No country, no region, is free of this social ill - including the European countries", say Thomas Hammarberg, Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, and Morten Kjaerum, Director of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA).

Media training on Roma minority and ethical reporting
Chisinau, Moldova, March 2009

Within the framework of the joint Council of Europe/European Commission Dosta! campaign to fight against stereotypes towards Roma, a media training is going to take place in Chisinau, Moldova.

The training will mainly target media professionals and will focus on communication and reporting, as well as on Roma cultural features and traditions in order to approach Roma issues, culture and traditions avoiding stereotyping information.

The training is also open to governmental officials in charge of Roma issues at National or municipal level, who wish to improve their capacity to address journalists and the majority population about the need for targeted actions for Roma.

Speech by Terry Davis, Secretary General of the Council of Europe

Strasbourg, 24 November 2008

Last week, there were two developments of importance to Roma and Travellers in Europe.

The first development was positive. Last Wednesday, the Ministers’ Deputies renewed the Partnership Agreement between the Council of Europe and the European Roma and Travellers Forum for one year.

The second event, however, was much more ominous.

Strasbourg, 18.11.2008 - 75 years almost to the day after the Kristallnacht marked the beginning of the Holocaust, a stone throwing mob tried to attack a Roma suburb in the Czech city of Litvinov. The analogy only goes so far.  In 1933 the attacks by the storm troopers were orchestrated by the Nazi regime, and it would be totally wrong to draw any parallels with the Czech Republic where the authorities are doing everything they can to prevent these attacks against the Roma. 

I congratulate the Czech authorities on their determination in stopping the violence and also express my solidarity with the policemen who were wounded by the mob.  At the same time we must recognise that this incident took place against the background of increasing intolerance and violence against Roma people in Europe.  All Governments across Europe also need to look urgently at the situation of the Roma communities in their countries and act decisively to protect them against discrimination, intolerance and violence.
 

Campaign for Eliminating Prejudice Against Roma Launched 
18/11/2008 - STA / Slovenia
 

A campaign aimed at bridging the gap between the Roma and the majority population was launched in Ljubljana on Monday. Parliamentary Speaker Pavel Gantar said on the occasion that he was convinced that the campaign would contribute to better understanding between cultures and eliminate many prejudices.

Gantar is proud that the campaign was first launched in Slovenia, he is however displeased that such a campaign is necessary, as living in harmony in a modern society like Slovenia should seem natural.

Head of the Government Office for Nationalities Stanko Baluh said that the campaign dubbed "Dosta! Enough! Go beyond Prejudice, discover the Roma!".

aimed at freeing people of prejudices and stereotypes and wants to show who Roma people actually are.

Thomas Hammarberg, Human Rights Commissioner, Council of Europe: The shameful history of anti-Gypsism is forgotten - and repeated
 
18//08/08 - Only a few thousand Roma in Germany survived the Holocaust and the concentration camps. They faced enormous difficulties when trying to build up their lives again, having lost so many of their family members and relatives, and having had their properties destroyed or confiscated. Many of them had their health ruined. When some of them tried to obtain compensation, their claims were rejected for years.
 
For these survivors no justice came with the post-Hitler era. Significantly, the mass killing of the Roma people was not an issue at the Nürnberg trial. The genocide of the Roma – Samudaripe or Porrajmos – was hardly recognised in the public discourse.

Roma rights are violated every day in Europe. Roma workers are refused jobs, their children are refused places in school. Roma community is often considered marginal and traditional, therefore they are more likely to suffer
social exclusion.
In reality, the Roma can be considered to be the first European people, since they “broke” European borders a long time before any international treaty or Convention existed. They travelled all around Europe enriching their culture with that of the visited countries, enriching European cultural heritage at the same time.
 

The Council of Europe is Europe’s guardian of human rights, its duty being to make sure everyone’s rights are respected. “Dosta!” is therefore an awareness raising campaign aiming to fight the discrimination which Roma suffer from because of widespread anti-Gypsyism.
 

Italy: “Immigration policy must be based on human rights principles and not only on perceived security concerns”, says Commissioner Hammarberg presenting a special report

Strasbourg, 29.07.2008 – “Concern about security cannot be the only basis for immigration policy. Measures now being taken in Italy lack human rights and humanitarian principles and may spur further xenopohobia,”. With these words, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Thomas Hammarberg, published a report based on his special visit to Rome 19 and 20 June. The visit took place following a series of anti-Roma and anti-Sinti protests, which were occasionally very violent, and the rapid adoption or preparation of legislation, which notably aimed to introduce further controls of the freedom of movement of Roma and Sinti, the criminalisation of irregular immigration and additional restrictions on immigration.

Anti-Romani Speech in Europe’s Public Space - The Mechanism of Hate Speech
Henry Scicluna 1

Introduction

Hate speech can take various forms, ranging from offensive remarks to incitement to violence. In the case of Roma, hate speech covers the whole range of abuse and follows a pattern distinct from ordinary abusive speech against any given group. Whether it is a minor insult or an outright incitement to killing, the purpose of the perpetrator is the same: To exclude and eliminate Roma from society. What is noticeable in most countries is a constant and systematic escalation in the gravity of hate speech rather than sporadic incidents.