International Romani Day

International Romani Day
	Flag of the Romani people
Observed by	Worldwide
Type	International
Significance	Civil awareness day; Romani culture
Date	April 8
Next time	8 April 2019
Frequency	annual
Related to	Holocaust Memorial Days, International Mother Language Day, Human Rights Day

The International Romani Day (April 8) is a day to celebrate Romani culture and raise awareness of the issues facing Romani people.

Origin

The day was officially declared in 1990 in Serock, Poland, the site of the fourth World Romani Congress of the International Romani Union (IRU), in honour of the first major international meeting of Romani representatives, 7–12 April 1971 in Chelsfield near London.

International reaction

Pope John Paul II exhorted his followers to treat Romanies with compassion and respect.
In 2003, the Dalai Lama lit a candle to commemorate the day.
In 2004, Adam Ereli of the US State Department addressed the continuing human rights abuses faced by Romanies and asked European governments to encourage tolerance.
In 2006, Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, Council of Europe Deputy Secretary General, stated her concerns for growing Antiziganism and encouraged Europe's Romani populations to act to improve their poor living conditions, the result of longstanding and widespread discrimination.^[1]
In 2009, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke of the U.S. commitment to protecting and promoting the human rights of Romani people throughout Europe.^[2]

References

↑ "Council of Europe Deputy Secretary General concerned at mounting anti-Gypsy feelings in Europe". Center for the Study of Democracy. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28.
↑ "Secretary Clinton's Message on International Roma Day". state.gov. Retrieved 3 April 2018.

External links

International Roma Day 8 April 2013, as profiled by Deutsche Welle

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[CSD-1] "Council of Europe Deputy Secretary General concerned at mounting anti-Gypsy feelings in Europe". Center for the Study of Democracy. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28.

[2] "Secretary Clinton's Message on International Roma Day". state.gov. Retrieved 3 April 2018.