weapon used to incite hatred , extremism , and xenophobia . The distortion of the genocide against the Roma is not an isolated historical untruth ; it resonates in the present and directly affects the social position and mental health of the Romani community . The persistent prejudice against the Roma , manifested through social exclusion , discrimination , and segregation , reveals a troubling continuity from the past ,” Míšková emphasized .
The visibility and importance given to the commemoration of Romani and Sinti victims varies from country to country . Perhaps the most striking recent example is the commemoration in Donja Gradina , Bosnia and Herzegovina , near Jasenovac , just across the Croatian border . Eighty years after the night when 2,897 Romani people were killed in Auschwitz , August 2 was marked in this place with no high state or institutional representatives present . Samudaripen , the International Day of Remembrance of Romani Victims of Genocide during World War II , was commemorated by the Committee for Roma in the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina and about thirty young Roma .
As reported by Novosti , the Ministry of Human Rights and Refugees , which should have the commemoration of August 2 marked on its calendar , informed the Committee for Roma that they were “ unable to pay travel expenses and attendance in Donja Gradina due to budget restructuring .” This justification was awkward and indeed disrespectful . Furthermore , no state institution sent either a floral wreath or a delegate .
Despite all the declarations , primarily the Jasenovac and Poznań Declarations , as well as positive legal and subordinate legal acts prescribing the integration of Roma and honoring their victims in World War II , such unacceptable behavior continues .
The Jasenovac Declaration emphasizes , among other things , the need to encourage state and other institutions and organizations to adequately commemorate the International Day of Remembrance of Romani Victims of Samudaripen , particularly at the sites of their suffering . It establishes that there needs to be state and general societal recognition of the suffering of Roma during World War II in European and other countries , especially in light of the increasing discrimination they suffer . Furthermore , it is important to encourage scientific and other research related to the persecution of Roma during World War II as necessary for the appropriate recognition of their suffering . The improvement and coordination of the work of educational institutions in European and other countries is also imperative to educate the population adequately on the suffering of the Roma . In this context , we need to promote Romani culture , language , and history within educational institutions at all levels . Regarding the representation of this topic in the media in European and other countries , it is important to encourage properly informed writing and reporting on their suffering .
In 2023 , the Government of the Republic of Croatia adopted a Conclusion on the Adoption of the Non-binding Working Definition of Antisemitism of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance , including definitions of anti-Roma racism and discrimination . At that time , Prime Minister Andrej Plenković stated : “… All three definitions have been supported by Croatia during their adoption , and they have been adopted or endorsed at the national level by numerous member countries of IHRA . The purpose of these conclusions is to mandate all bodies of state administration to use these definitions in their work to improve education , research , and information about the Holocaust and systematically encourage remembrance of the genocide against the Roma and the Holocaust …(…)… the working definition is an expression of awareness that we must oppose the denial of the Holocaust and the distortion of facts about it , that such actions should be condemned at the national and international level , and that they need to be examined on a global scale .”
Examples illustrating anti-Roma sentiment / anti-Roma discrimination include : the distortion or denial of the persecution of Roma or the genocide against them ; glorifying the genocide against the Roma ; inciting , justifying , and committing violence against Romani communities , their property , and
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