Prejudice against Sinti, Roma common in Europe

Although Roma and Sinti all over Europe would like dignity and respect, as well as equal opportunities and self-determination, century-long discrimination against Europe's biggest minority has led to many members living on the margins of society. At a recent high-level OSCE event in Berlin, over 130 participants representing governments, international organizations and Roma groups discussed how to combat discrimination, racism and hate crimes against Roma and Sinti, also known as gypsies.

"Promoting tolerance and non-discrimination is a priority of the 2016 German OSCE Chairmanship," said Michael Roth, German Minister of State for Europe, in his opening speech. He set a clear tone: "Inclusion is not a one-way street," he said."

Discrimination of Sinti and Roma is not a new problem, it continues to be widespread in Europe." Referring to the Nazi genocide of Roma and Sinti as the "barbaric pinnacle" of discrimination, Roth said that Germany bore a particular responsibility and would actively campaign for the protection and promotion of this minority's rights as chair of the OSCE.

"Our majority society has to change so that the widespread prejudices against the biggest minority in Europe come to an end," he insisted.

Good laws - insufficient implementation

Despite more intensive efforts in the past two decades to fight discrimination, the OSCE drew rather sobering conclusions as to their success: Violence against Roma, especially in eastern and southeastern Europe continues. Moreover, Roma and refugees are currently being played against each other in the debate over migration.

Michael Georg Link, the head of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), said there should be consequences when rules that OSCE members decided upon and agreed to together were broken. Speaking with DW, he said that the legal situation in countries such as Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic or Romania had improved considerably as a result of their efforts to join the EU and after their accession but that there was "a problem of implementation."

He used the example of certain communities in northern Hungary where mayors had declared that they wanted a Roma-free city. He called for an end to such behavior.

He also said that developments in the Western Balkans were a matter of concern for the OSCE. He told DW that although had been some legal improvements as a result of consultation with the OSCE and in the preparation phase for joining the EU. "in practice, these states are well behind."

"A truly zero-tolerance approach to anti-Gypsyism requires much greater vigilance from the mainstream," said Thorbjørn Jagland, the Council of Europe's secretary general. "Over time, casual stereotypes and routine discrimination are as corrosive for Roma rights as open prejudice." He also pointed out that many countries did not even have laws for punishing discrimination of Sinti and Roma.

Getting away from victimhood

Romani Rose, the chairman of the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma, called for anti-Romani discrimination to be proscribed all over Europe. He also said that an end should be put to victimhood and Roma and Sinti should play a central role in society.

With regard to the current refugee situation and the debate about what are often called "poverty refugees", he told DW: "We have got a new crisis in Europe today and scapegoats are being sought on whom to transfer fault and blame." He said that Roma from southeastern Europe are facing racism and anti-Gypsyism once more. He said there was a history of such discrimination."Whenever a European country has a crisis, our minority and the Jewish minority, are scapegoated.

The participants all underlined the need to continue developing strategies and initiatives to effectively combat systematic discrimination against Roma and Sinti. They said that mainstream society, the political sphere and the media had to take a strong decisive stand against anti-Gypsyism and pointed out that extremism was a threat to democracy and rule of law in Europe.