In a statement published on Friday 1 August, on the eve of European Roma Holocaust Memorial Day, Alain Berset, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, spoke about the murder of more than 3,000 Roma on the night of 2 to 3 August 1944 in Auschwitz-Birkenau and the extermination of some 500,000 Roma by the Nazi regime.
The creation of the Memorial Day ten years ago “was a crucial step towards acknowledging the suffering of Roma communities and confronting decades of silence and denial”, he stressed.
“As we mark this sombre anniversary, let us confront the rise of hate speech, racism and the growing disregard for the international legal order forged after the Second World War and the Holocaust”, he added.
Alain Berset also highlighted initiatives such as the joint EU and Council of Europe RomaMemory programme and the Strategic Action Plan for Roma and Traveller Inclusion led by the Strasbourg-based organisation to promote education, awareness-raising and inclusion. (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)