Subscribe to e-mail services
Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights
Homepage
Search this siteRoma and Sinti
The Roma and Sinti populations of Europe migrated from India between the 9th and the 14th centuries. They dispersed across Europe and developed diverse communities.
Millions of Roma and Sinti live around the world, the majority in Europe. While nomadism was once central to their culture, most Roma are now sedentary.
Often linked together pejoratively under the term Gypsies, alongside ethnically unrelated groups, Roma and Sinti have been persecuted throughout their history and were victims of the Holocaust. Since the collapse of communism in 1989, Roma and Sinti communities have in many places been further excluded from mainstream society. Many were caught in the crossfire of violent conflicts resulting from the resurgence of nationalism in Eastern and South Eastern Europe.
Discrimination and exclusion still characterize the lives of most Roma and Sinti today, reflected in racist violence, unemployment, poverty, illiteracy and high infant mortality.
Main issues
The ODIHR deals with a variety of issues related to Roma and Sinti.
More
Activities
The ODIHR's Contact Point for Roma and Sinti Issues carries out activities under the framework of the 2003 OSCE Action Plan on Improving the Situation of Roma and Sinti Within the OSCE Area
More
This 2008 Status Report on fulfilling the commitments made in the Action Plan is published by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights.
Links
- PUBLICATION: Implementation of the Action Plan on Improving the Situation of Roma and Sinti Within the OSCE Area
- Publications on Roma and Sinti issues
- Reports on Roma and Sinti issued by the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities
- Tolerance and Non-Discrimination Information System
The ODIHR's information system, with access to information from OSCE participating States and partner organizations, as well as NGO reports via the Hurisearch search engine. - AUDIO: Thomas Hammarberg, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, speaks about Roma political participation at OSCE conference
- AUDIO: Listen to Anastasia Crickley on progress and remaining challenges in implementing the OSCE Action Plan on Roma and Sinti
Documents
Witness statement before the US Helsinki Commission by Andrzej Mirga, ODIHR Senior Adviser on Roma and Sinti Issues
English (52.4 KB)
View as HTML:
English
Public briefing by the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe
Assessment of the human rights situation of Roma and Sinti in Italy
English (242 KB)
View as HTML:
English
Report of a fact-finding mission to Milan, Naples and Rome on 20-26 July 2008
MC Decision: Enhancing OSCE Efforts to Implement the Action Plan on Improving the Situation of Roma and Sinti within the OSCE Area
English (18.6 KB), French (61 KB), German (251 KB), Italian (59 KB), Russian (139 KB), Spanish (59.7 KB)
View as HTML:
English, French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish
Action Plan on Improving the Situation of Roma and Sinti Within the OSCE Area
English (121 KB), French (104 KB), German (118 KB), Italian (99.8 KB), Russian (289 KB), Spanish (104 KB)
View as HTML:
English, French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish
Final Report on Sustainable Policies for Roma and Sinti Integration
English (588 KB)
Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting, Vienna, 10 - 11 July 2008.