Blinken marks Roma Holocaust Memorial Day

Roma and Sinti women at Bergen-Belsen in Germany after the Nazi camp's liberation in April 1945 (public domain)
Roma and Sinti women at Bergen-Belsen in Germany after the Nazi camp's liberation in April 1945 (public domain)

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken marks Roma Holocaust Memorial Day, commemerating the hundreds of thousands of members of the community killed by Nazi Germany and its allies.

Many countries mark the genocide on August 2, a date on which 2,897 Roma and Sinti men, women and children were murdered by the Nazis in the gas chambers of Auschwitz-Birkenau.

“As we commemorate all the Romani lives taken by the Nazi genocide against Roma, we reaffirm the dignity and human rights of all and renew our commitment to condemning and countering the racism and discrimination that Roma and Sinti face today,” Blinken says.

“We emphasize the importance of remembering the genocide of Roma. And we acknowledge that history has often neglected this genocide, which has contributed to the prejudice, inequality, and exclusion that Roma and Sinti communities still experience. We call on all governments to work together to end discrimination, segregation, and marginalization against Roma and Sinti,” he says.

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