OSCE human rights office gathers youth activists from across Europe to commemorate Roma victims of genocide

OSWIECIM, Poland, 2 August 2010 - Some 80 Roma and non-Roma youth activists from several European countries have gathered in Oswiecim today for an event organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), the International Roma Youth Network (ternYpe) and the Malopolska regional authorities to commemorate the victims of the "Zigeunerlager", or "Gypsy Camp", at the Nazi concentration camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau. 

Some 23,000 Roma and Sinti were imprisoned in the "Zigeunerlager" in Auschwitz, and nearly all were killed. The last group of 2,897 elderly people, women and children were exterminated on 2 August 1944.

The four-day event, sponsored by the Polish Minister of Equal Treatment, Elzbieta Radziszewska, is supported by the Krakow Pedagogical University, the Jewish Cultural Centre and the Jewish Association Czulent. It aims to teach young people from different backgrounds about the origins of the Roma genocide and discuss today's manifestations of racism and intolerance experienced by Roma across Europe.

"With the number of survivors and witnesses steadily declining, the role of the younger generation in remembering the horror of the Holocaust and the genocide against Roma and drawing lessons for the present becomes ever more important," said Andrzej Mirga, the head of ODIHR's Contact Point for Roma and Sinti Issues.

He stressed that remembrance requires knowledge: "The young people gathered here today came to learn about the past by meeting survivors and visiting places of extermination. This will enable them to better confront the challenges of racism and intolerance in the societies they live in."

ODIHR assists the OSCE's participating States in implementing their commitments to combat hate crimes and promote tolerance and non-discrimination. The 2003 OSCE Roma and Sinti Action Plan calls for the inclusion of Roma history and culture, particularly their experience during the Holocaust, in educational material.

"We hope that this can become an annual educational event for young people engaged in the fight against modern-day intolerance and racism," Mirga said.