On the occasion of the European Roma Holocaust Memorial Day, Marija Pejčinović Burić, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, made the following statement:
"Today, we commemorate European Roma Holocaust Memorial Day and pay tribute to the 3,000 Roma - mainly women and children - who were ruthlessly murdered in the dark of the night at Auschwitz-Birkenau. We must never forget how hatred, exploitation and stigmatisation led to this mass killing 79 years ago today. Remembrance serves to restore dignity and justice to victims and to the community.
"The Council of Europe is committed to ensuring Roma inclusion and supporting its member states to establish and maintain safeguards for Roma communities.
"Last year, our member States adopted a Recommendation on combating hate speech, which provides guidance to national authorities and key actors on how to put in place an overarching set of legal and non-legal measures to address this challenge.
"This year, the Committee of Ministers adopted the Recommendation on Roma youth participation that promotes participation, representation and inclusion of Roma youth in all spheres of society and decision-making processes. We are also now developing new tools to support our member states for the inclusion of the History of Roma and Travellers in School Curricula and Teaching Materials across Europe.
"History teaching and Roma Holocaust remembrance not only strengthen the identity of the Roma, but also provide essential context that can help to learn from the past.
"Roma have a right that all of us must defend: the right to remember."
