Participants at OSCE meeting in Warsaw highlight increasing use of racist and anti-Roma rhetoric by politicians

Racist and anti-Roma rhetoric by politicians from far-right and, increasingly, mainstream political parties has been on the rise as part of efforts to capitalize on anti-Roma sentiment among majority communities, participants said at an event co-organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the Central Council for German Sinti and Roma, during the Human Dimension Implementation Meeting in Warsaw on 30 September 2015.

Representatives of civil society and state authorities from across the OSCE region  discussed how hate speech and racism against Roma and Sinti negatively impacts integration efforts within OSCE participating States.

"Political leaders have a responsibility to counter hate speech rather than to spread negative stereotypes and contribute to the climate of impunity they create," said Michael Georg Link, ODIHR Director. "Politicians and state institutions have an obligation to protect the human rights of all citizens, including by promoting tolerance and understanding."

Henriett Dinok, Roma youth activist from Hungary, said: "It has become a standard practice for many politicians to use the 'Roma issue' as a vote-winning strategy in elections. This cynical electoral strategy has opened the door for current illegal actions and human rights violations against Roma and Sinti in many OSCE participating States."

Participants also discussed the important role that state institutions play in overcoming prejudices and racism against Roma and Sinti within the public sphere.

"The Roma and Sinti genocide demonstrated what can happen when a prejudicial sentiment becomes an integral part of a states’ legal order and, therefore, the most radical and powerful form of racist ideology," said Romani Rose, Chairman of the Council of German Sinti and Roma. "Political leaders must learn from this history in order to combat prejudices and racism in society, especially within governmental institutions that maintain and reproduce the exclusion of Roma and Sinti today."

The event also provided a platform to explore national mechanisms and available tools to counter hate speech and racism against Roma and Sinti during election campaigns.