Anti-Romani Speech in Europe’s Public Space - The Mechanism of Hate Speech
Henry Scicluna 1

Introduction

Hate speech can take various forms, ranging from offensive remarks to incitement to violence. In the case of Roma, hate speech covers the whole range of abuse and follows a pattern distinct from ordinary abusive speech against any given group. Whether it is a minor insult or an outright incitement to killing, the purpose of the perpetrator is the same: To exclude and eliminate Roma from society. What is noticeable in most countries is a constant and systematic escalation in the gravity of hate speech rather than sporadic incidents.

Council of Europe and Lilian Thuram unite against racism

On 13 May at its Paris meeting, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) published its ‘Unite Against Racism’ declaration, in the presence of French international footballer Lilian Thuram. The declaration, supported by a video message from Secretary General Terry Davis, was issued ahead of the Euro 2008 football tournament. The commission wants the event to demonstrate a commitment to combatting racism and racial discrimination in football and set out guidelines for tackling the problem in national football leagues.

Declaration by the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance of the Council of Europe (ECRI) on the occasion of Euro 2008

“Unite against racism”

Paris, 13 May

The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) of the Council of Europe:

Strasbourg, 07.05.2008 – Improving the living conditions of Roma citizens by safeguarding their basic human rights, promoting access to services and supporting their participation in social and political life and further empowerment are the priorities of a joint Council of Europe/European Commission awareness-raising project to be launched in Moldova and Ukraine on 14 May.

The project,  entitled “Empowering the Roma communities and fighting against anti-Gypsyism”, will provide training on the monitoring and evaluation of Roma national policies for  government officials, but also training for teachers and anti-trafficking mediators from Moldova and Ukraine.

The project will also include the launch of Dosta!, an awareness-raising campaign promoting Roma rights which has already been successfully carried out in five countries in South Eastern Europe  with the support of the authorities and Roma communities.

Our Voices Heard – Amare Glasura Ashunde – a Romani Women’s Rights Conference held in Sweden in December 2007, provided a forum for discussion about the challenges facing Romani women today. It was an opportunity to share information and good practices between policymakers and Romani Women’s Networks across Europe.
 

A magazine based on the speeches and discussions held at the conference, which was co-organised by the
Swedish Ministry of Integration and Gender Equality, the Council of Europe and the European Union Agency for
Fundamental Rights, has now been published.
 

The core themes of the conference were: Romani Women’s Rights, Combating Trafficking, Respecting Reproductive Rights and Roma Access to Public Health Care.
 

The opinions expressed in the texts do not necessarily reflect those of the organisers of the conference.

Strasbourg, 8 April 2008

I congratulate our fellow Europeans on the occasion of the International Roma Day. We should use this opportunity to celebrate the contribution of the Roma people to the cultural diversity and richness of Europe.

For some time, the Council of Europe has been campaigning against prejudice towards the Roma community in the South East Europe, and we want to extend the “Dosta!” campaign to all Council of Europe member states.

“Dosta” means “Enough” in Romani, but today is also an opportunity to say “More!”, meaning more rights, more equality, more integration and more respect for our fellow Europeans who belong to Roma community.

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Racial profiling is racism: Statement by Council of Europe Secretary General Terry Davis on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (21 March) 
 
Strasbourg, 19.03.2008 - “Racial discrimination not only hurts its victims. It is also damaging to the society which harbours it. A society which ignores, tolerates, encourages or practices discrimination, on racial or any other grounds, is dysfunctional and riddled with risks.

Last year, a high level international conference (*), organised by the Council of Europe, identified discrimination and especially racial discrimination as something which is itself conducive to the spread of political extremism and violence. The conference concluded that anti-terrorist measures which are discriminatory on grounds of race, language, religion, nationality or ethnic origin are counterproductive and ineffective in the long term.

CALL FOR NEW SONGS FOR THE FIFTH EDITION OF MINORITY LANGUAGE SONG CONTEST LIET LAVLUT IN Luleå, SWEDEN

On Saturday October the 18th 2008 Luleå municipality will host the fifth edition of the European song contest Liet Lavlut 2008, the one and only songcontest for singers and bands who sing in a European minority language. The organisation therefore calls upon bands, singers and cultural organisations troughout Europe to submit new songs in minority languages for the fifth edition of our songcontest.

The song contest will consist of 10 to 12 singers or bands who represent European regions where a minority language is being spoken and sung. The song contest will take place in the brand new Kulturens Hus, the big concert hall in Luleå.

Go to the "Call for Songs":

English version

Romani version

"Music beyond prejudice: Romani variations on the European Anthem" is a new Dosta! campaign production and at the same time a very symbolic one.

The CD features five leading groups from the galaxy of Roma music – including Shqiperiagroup from Albania, Kal and R. Point from Serbia, the Alsatian guitarist and interpreter of manouche jazz Yorgui Loeffler, and Esma Redzepova, one of the most famous Roma singers. The result is an eclectic and explosive mixture of Balkan sounds, jazz and traditional Roma music which is at the same time faithful to its origins whilst also being completely up to date.
 
Esma Redzepova has performed at the CD launch at 12pm (in the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Chamber) during an award ceremony to honour the best local initiatives for the integration of Roma people, the “Dosta! Congress Prize for Municipalities”. The award is given by the Council of Europe Congress, which is holding a session from 19-21 November 2007 in Strasbourg.

On the occasion of the ''Dosta!-Congress Prize for Municipalities'' Henry Scicluna, of Europe co-ordinator for Roma issues, presented a diploma to the three cities winners of the ''Dosta!-Congress Prize for Municipalities'' represented by Dragoljub Davidovic, Mayor of Banja Luka, Vlado Alilovic, Mayor of Vitez, and Snezana Mushitski, from the Municipality of Novi Sad. On this occasion, Congress President Halvdan Skard also handed them the Congress Medal, in recognition of their initiatives for Roma communities.

Go to the press release
 

Through the "Youth Video Project ", organised within the framework of the Dosta! campaign,  young people who have spent a significant part of their lives in an IDP in Plementina camp have produced documentary on Roma history in the camp, their roots, their identity.

The project encourages young people to be active, whilst giving them an opportunity to express themselves. Young people in the camps don’t have access to university or school and they face many social problems. This project teaches them to work together as a team; the participants also gain film-making and basic journalistic skills. Through the 3 months training and working experience that participants re-ceived, they will are now able to develop new documentary film projects of their own in the future. 

On Monday the 12th of November the result of their work will be shown in ODA THEATRE. A photo and painting exhibitions are also organised as well as live Roma music, everything Made in Plementina!