On day of Roma Holocaust, UN calls on world to stand against bigotry

In a video message released on Friday to mark International Roma Holocaust Day, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres paid tribute to the hundreds of thousands of people killed by the Nazis during World War 2 and called for a united fight against all forms of bigotry.

That’s according to Ukrinform's own correspondent in New York.

The General Secretary recalled that on the night of August 2, 1944, some 4,300 Roma and Sinti were killed in the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. In general, half a million representatives of this national community died during the war, which was least a quarter of their population.

Guterres also paid tribute to the survivors and praised their brave resistance.

“The sad reality is that Roma people face rampant discrimination in all areas of life and all parts of the world, not least in Europe,” he said. “Extremist and xenophobic groups are spreading hate speech, scapegoating marginalized communities and sowing fear and division.”

Guterres called on the world to unite and fight bigotry in all its forms.

"We must stand together: to fight bigotry whenever and wherever it appears," the Secretary General said.

In turn, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, in a separate address, warned against "unimaginable horrors" that hatred and dehumanization can lead to.

"We must heed the lessons of history," he said. “Discrimination, exclusion, marginalization – this is centuries old, but persisting today."

Türk added that the Roma in Europe still face serious challenges. A survey among the Roma people, run across the EU, found that 17% had endured some form of hate-based harassment in the past 12 months and that almost 80% were at risk of poverty.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, on the International Day of the Roma Holocaust, a commemorative event was held in the Babyn Yar National Historical and Memorial Reserve to mark the 80th anniversary of the mass killings by the Nazis in Kyiv.