Welcome to the United Nations 
OHCHR 
Advancing Roma inclusion
OHCHR and minorities
Roundtable
Memorialization as a Strategy to Tackle Anti-Gypsyism in the Americas
17-18 May 2023
UPEACE, Costa Rica
The Indigenous Peoples and Minorities Section (IPMS) of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the University for Peace (UPEACE) is organizing the international roundtable event on "Memorialization as a Strategy to tackle Anti-Gypsyism in the Americas" on May 17-18, 2023. The event will be held in San José, Costa Rica, and in hybrid format (in person and online).
The roundtable is done with the involvement of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues and in partnership with civil society organizations.
The roundtable aims to follow up on the UN's global efforts to consolidate the rights of Roma people and combat antigypsyism, its historical roots and its impact on the present. The event also aims to take stock of the current state of Roma inclusion policies in the Americas and to encourage the processes of construction and valorization of the memory of this people in public and private spaces.
The online aspect of the roundtable will take place via ZOOM and is free and open to the public, but registration is mandatory. Once registered, you will receive instructions on how to join this event.
Interpretation to and from Spanish and English is provided.
The event will be public and the online meeting will be broadcast on UPEACE Youtube Channel.
To attend the event, please kindly register below.
For further information, please see: Concept Note (PDF)
For any questions related to registrations please contact Aline Miklos: fellow.miklos@un.org
The organizers look forward to your questions and active participation.
Roma rights in pictures
Romani slum "Na Demetri", Kosice, Slovakia.
Photo credit: © REUTERS/Petr Josek
Craica slum, Baia Mare, Romania.
Photo credit: © REUTERS/Bogdan Cristel
Celebration of International Roma Day April 8, 2015, in Madrid, Spain.
Photo credit: © REUTERS/Andrea Comas
Roma and Travellers face widespread discrimination (and often segregation) in many areas of life including in:
- policing
- justice systems
- housing
- education
- employment
- health
In some countries, Roma are dramatically overrepresented among children taken into state care. There is widespread denial that discrimination and racism against Roma exists.
Pursuant to a Human Rights Council resolution, the UN Human Rights Office supported the Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues in 2015 in producing a global study on the human rights situation of Roma worldwide. The Human Rights Council resolution and the study recognize that Anti-Gypsyism—the specific form of racism facing Roma—constitutes a major obstacle to the successful social inclusion of Roma and the full respect of their human rights.
The UN Human Rights Office works in a number of countries to strengthen the effective exercise of human rights by Roma and Travellers. It does this through supporting work to develop government policies on Roma inclusion, strengthening the capacities of Roma—and in particular Romani women—to take part in local, regional, national and international decision-making, as well as by working to challenge patterns and practices of discrimination and abuse. A number of Roma rights activists from countries around the world have also taken part in OHCHR’s Minority Fellowship Program.
See also the OHCHR publications addressing Forced Evictions of Roma and Travellers (2014), the housing rights of Roma in France (2018), and racial discrimination in Italy (2019).
Feature stories
Roma and Memorialization: Advancing Recognition and Remedy for the Dark Chapters of the Romani Past and their Impact on the Present
In September 2022, OHCHR convened, together with partners CHACHIPEN Project, the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma, Federación de Asociaciones Gitanas de Cataluña (FAGIC), the European Roma Grass-root Organizations (ERGO) Network and Asociatia Fast Forward (AFF). Other partners to this event were the World Council of Churches (WCC), European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture (ERIAC), Dikh He Na Bister! (Look and don’t forget!), and the Roma Advisory Council (RAC, North America), the international stocktaking roundtable Roma and Memorialization: Advancing Recognition and Remedy for the Dark Chapters of the Past and their Impact on the Present. The roundtable examined ways to cobat anti-Gypsyism/anti-Roma racism by advancing truth, recognition, reparations, trust and reconciliation processes at local, national and international levels. The event aimed at taking stock of the state-of-play, identifying the next steps in this regard, and drawing up a list of recommendations for further action. Read the Outcome Document of the Roundtable here.
Working for a more inclusive policy towards migrant Roma in France
The UN Human Rights Regional Office for Europe works with civil society organizations and the French Government to change the policy of forced evictions of migrant Roma in France. Read our 2018 comprehensive mission report here.
Paving the way to a better future for Roma families in Serbia
The United Nations Human Rights Office and its partners engaged with the Serbian Government to ensure human rights standards were observed in the process of moving Roma families from the slums of Serbia’s capital Belgrade. See our film here.
The politics of exclusion continue in and around Rome
Roma migrants and their defenders describe the living conditions in camps, and forced evictions by the local authorities in Rome, Italy.
Empowering Roma in rural Hungary
UN and civil society are making efforts to empower the Roma in Cserehát region in their struggle against socio-economic exclusion and racial discrimination.
Bringing inclusion to Roma communities in Moldova’s rural areas
In Moldova, efforts to improve access to basic services of Roma living in some of the most excluded rural communities contribute to support their integration.
Between tradition and exclusion: struggling for the right to pitch a trailer
Candy Sheridan advocates for the rights of the Irish Travellers who were evicted from Dale Farm in Basildon, United Kingdom, over a year ago.
“A little bit of money makes a real difference”
Romani human rights activist, Valeriu Nicolae, runs and funds from his own resources a project aimed at giving young people in a Bucharest ghetto a future free of drugs and crime through education and sports.
Innovative grassroots projects for Roma integration in the Czech Republic
The UN Human Rights Office has welcomed projects for the integration of the Roma population launched by the local authorities in Ostrava, Czech Republic. Regrettably, critical civil society voices were excluded in the process.
Roma migrants and their defenders describe the living conditions in camps, and forced evictions by the local authorities in Rome, Italy. Read our 2020 mission report here.
Related links
Call for Inputs: Romani Memory Map for the Americas
Deadline 31 August 2023