2 August 2024
António Guterres
United Nations Secretary-General
Video statement on the occasion of 2 August 2024, Holocaust Memorial Day for Sinti and Roma
It is a great honour, and a great sadness, to mark the Holocaust Memorial Day for Roma and Sinti in this landmark year.
Eighty years ago, the last surviving Roma and Sinti in Auschwitz-Birkenau were murdered.
This was a despicable episode in a despicable history of persecution, systemic mass murder and outright genocide perpetrated by the Nazis and their collaborators.
Their relentless brutality saw up to 500,000 Roma killed; communities devastated; and age-old culture shattered across Europe.
For too long, these atrocities were downplayed, diminished, and denied.
Today, we honour the memory of all those murdered, and deprived of their humanity.
We pay tribute to the survivors and promise never to forget.
We commend the courage of Roma and Sinti resistance.
And we commit to combatting hate.
The prejudice that fuelled the Nazis’ terrible crimes did not end with their downfall.
It continued – denying justice and distorting history.
And it remains today. 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.
Extremist and xenophobic groups are spreading hate speech, scapegoating marginalized communities and sowing fear and division.
We must stand together:
To fight bigotry whenever and wherever it appears;
To protect and promote the human rights of Roma;
And to build a world in which all people live in dignity, peace and freedom.
The United Nations is your unwavering ally in that cause.
Dziękuję.
Statements 2024
António Guterres
United Nations Secretary-General
Helena Dalli
European Commissioner for Equality
Volker Türk
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Ellen Germain
Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues, Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, U.S. Department of State
Michael O’Flaherty
Council-of-Europe-Commissioner-for-Human-Rights-
Terry Reintke
Co-president of the Greens in the European Parliament
Mehmet Daimagüler
Federal Government Commissioner against Antigypsyism
Cecilia Woloch
American Poet
Ruslan Stefanchuk
Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine
Markéta Pekarová Adamová
Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic
Christian Mihr
Deputy Secretary General /
Managing Director Human Rights Impact
Annita Demetriou
H.E. The President of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Cyprus
Peter De Roover
President of the Belgian House of Representatives
Janine Wissler
Chairwoman of DIE LINKE
Florian Herrmann
Head of the State Chancellery Bavaria/Minister of State for Federal Affairs and Media
Saskia Esken
Member of the Bundestag, Co-leader of SPD
Christian Lindner
Member of the Bundestag, Federal Minister of Finance
Friedrich Merz
Member of the Bundestag, Leader of CDU