Anti-Roma hate crime

OSCE participating States recognized the danger of ethnic hatred targeting Roma and Sinti as early as 1990. Anti-Roma rhetoric, including that focusing on "Gypsy criminality", can be perpetuated in the media and by political actors. EU enlargement, coupled with Roma marginalization, have led many Roma individuals and families to seek better conditions and opportunities elsewhere through migration, often encountering negative reactions in destination countries or areas. ODIHR's annual reporting on hate crime has presented a range of hate crimes targeting Roma. Assault, property damage and murder, involving the use of explosives, firearms or Molotov cocktails have featured in these reports. Among the particularly worrying incidents reported to ODIHR have been arson attacks against Roma homes.

More recently, Ministerial Council decisions in Maastricht (2003), Athens (2009) and Kiev (2013), as well as the Astana declaration (2010) have reconfirmed the need to combat violence against Roma and Sinti and urged participating States to step up their efforts in this regard.

A number of factors suggest that the reported data provide only a fragment of the overall picture of hate crimes against Roma and Sinti. While some participating States record anti-Roma hate crimes, these may not be disaggregated in their statistics and, instead, be included under the heading of racist and xenophobic hate crimes. In addition excessive force against or ill-treatment of Roma, including, for example, in the course of evictions or during stop-and-search actions by the police, can contribute to a lack of trust in the authorities. This, combined with a lack of means and knowledge on the part of Roma communities to monitor and report hate crimes means that these are likely significantly under-reported.

ODIHR TANDIS

International Reports

Czech Republic

During his country visit, the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe recommended that the Czech Republic continue developing its training on hate crime for all those involved in the criminal justice system. He noted that bias-motivated violence against Roma continues and that the authorities are making efforts to monitor extreme right-wing group activities and improving relationships with Roma communities, while also encouraging effective investigation and prosecution of hate crimes against Roma. He also encouraged authorities to extend the protection of hate crime provisions to ensure that bias motivation based on disability is included as an aggravating circumstance for sentencing.

In his report on the Czech Republic, the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe urged the authorities to effectively investigate hate speech and hate crimes against Roma and other minorities.

Hungary

The Report by Githu Muigai, the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, on his mission to Hungary, noted that Roma in Hungary are experiencing increased bias-motivated violence, including arson attacks against their houses, physical assaults and deaths, and recommended the government improve protective measures for the Roma community, to enact a national strategy to combat violence against Roma, to collect disaggregated data on hate crimes and to ensure such crimes are adequately investigated, prosecuted and appropriately sanctioned.

Italy

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) recommended that Italy provide training to local public authorities on racial discrimination, as a measure to address the lack of systemized training for law enforcement on obligations under the CERD treaty and the low number of prosecutions, despite the high number of hate crimes and violence. It also recommended that Italy take measures to prevent racist violence against Roma and Sinti people, and to ensure hate crimes against them are promptly investigated and prosecuted so that perpetrators do not enjoy de jure or de facto impunity.

The Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe recommended that Italy address potential inconsistent interpretation of aggravating circumstances provisions for bias-motivated crime through political leadership and awareness raising for all persons involved in the criminal justice system. He also expressed concerns about violence against Roma, noting that the bias motivation of these crimes is often downplayed by authorities, and encouraged better monitoring of hate crimes and ensuring bias motivation is part of the investigation and prosecution of such crimes.

Poland

The Human Rights Council, in its Universal Periodic Review, recommended that Poland strengthen measures to prevent racist violence, especially against Roma people.

OSCE Region

As part of the Best Practices for Roma Integration (BPRI) project in the Western Balkans, ODIHR conducted two regional training seminars for 36 Roma representatives in Sarajevo on preventing and responding to hate crimes against Roma.

ODIHR continued to promote the improvement of relations between police and Roma and Sinti communities, presenting its manual on building trust between police and Roma in Slovakia. 

The EU adopted Directive 2012/29/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of all victims of crime. The Directive contains provisions that specifically recognize the needs of victims of hate crimes.