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Genocide of the Roma

The IHRA has three committees that bring experts from all Working Groups together to address topics that are of contemporary interest to the IHRA and of a cross-cutting nature across its three principle areas of activity.  These committees are the Committee on Antisemitism and Holocaust Denial, the Committee on the Genocide of the Roma, and the Committee on the Holocaust, Genocide, and Crimes Against Humanity.

Committee on the Genocide of the Roma

The Committee aims to raise awareness about the genocide of the Roma under National Socialism and against this background seeks to increase the commitment of the IHRA to inform, educate, research about and remember the genocide of the Roma.

The Committee also seeks to draw attention to the continuous prejudice towards Roma before, during and after the Second World War as well as to demonstrate the link between the history of discrimination and persecution and the present situation of the Roma. This calls for educational programs that combat stereotyping, that include a focus on Roma resistance and that emphasize the richness and diversity of Roma culture.

IHRA Publications and Initiatives

Objectives

In line with the aforementioned focus areas, the Committee's concrete priorities for 2016 – 2020 are to:

1. Inform stakeholders and relevant target audiences aboutthe genocide of the Roma and promote non-discrimination and equality

  • Increase co-operation with other international bodies e.g. OSCE/ODIHR, Council of Europe, UN, UNESCO, EU/FRA
  • Disseminate the IHRA publications related to the genocide of the Roma
  • Reach out to Roma civil society and particularly youth
  • Share debates on contemporary issues (e.g. migration and discrimination)

2. Promote education about the genocide of Roma

  • Urge governments to include the genocide of the Roma in the school curriculum
  • Take further steps to disseminate relevant teaching material
  • Provide educators with then necessary historical knowledge and pedagogical training
  • Promote exchange and co-operation on the regional, national and international level  

3. Carry out research on the genocide of the Roma

  • Facilitate academic exchange on the current state of research
  • Encourage new research on the lacunae in this academic field

4. Further remembrance of the genocide of the Roma

  • Strive for greater acknowledgement of the importance of 2nd August
  • Encourage governmental representation at the 2nd August commemorations
  • Raise awareness and inform about memorial sites dedicated to the victims of the genocide of the Roma
  • Address with governments the situation in endangered memorial sites

Several projects have been undertaken by the Committee, in cooperation with other organizations:

  • A digital exhibition, ‘The Forgotten Genocide’, relates the life stories of six Roma and Sinti children. See www.romasinti.eu
  • Conference on the genocide of the Roma, May 2014. The report is available here.

One of IHRA’s key roles is to contribute to the funding of relevant projects through its grant strategy. From 2013-2016 around fifteen projects focusing on the genocide of the Roma were funded by IHRA. The following links provide information on some of these projects:

The Chair of the Committee on the Genocide of the Roma is Martina Maschke from Austria.