A/HRC/29/24
I. Introduction
1.
The Special Rapporteur on minority issues submits the present report in accordance
with Human Rights Council resolution 26/4, in which the Council invited her to prepare a
comprehensive study of the human rights situation of Roma worldwide, with a particular
focus on the phenomenon of anti-Gypsyism. Adopting a consultative approach, she liaised
with numerous international and regional organizations, Roma rights experts and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). The Special Rapporteur thanks all those who shared
information with her, including the Member States and national human rights institutions
that responded to her questionnaire (see annexes), the Office of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights Regional Office for Europe, and the United Nations
network on racial discrimination and protection of minorities.
II. Overview of the situation of Roma worldwide
A.
Roma populations around the world
2.
The term “Roma” refers to heterogeneous groups, the members of which live in
various countries under different social, economic, cultural and other conditions. The term
Roma thus does not denote a specific group but rather refers to the multifaceted Roma
universe, which is comprised of groups and subgroups that overlap but are united by
common historical roots, linguistic communalities and a shared experience of discrimination
in relation to majority groups. “Roma” is therefore a multidimensional term that
corresponds to the multiple and fluid nature of Roma identity.
3.
According to the principles of international law, including article 27 of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Declaration on the Rights of
Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities (the
Declaration), and general comment No. 23 (1994) of the Human Rights Committee,
minority identity does not depend on recognition by a State, but rather on individual selfidentification. The Special Rapporteur, therefore, uses the term Roma to include all groups
that self-identify as such, and also includes those who self-identify as Sinti, Kale, Travellers
or Gypsies.
4.
Although theories as to why the ancestors of today’s Roma emigrated from India a
millennium ago are beyond the scope of the present report, it is important to note that Roma
have dispersed worldwide. There are, however, no official or reliable statistics on the global
Roma population.
5.
The largest and most visible Roma minority is European Roma, whose presence in
Europe dates back to the fourteenth century. Today, there are approximately 11 million
European Roma, with 6 million estimated to be residing within the 27 European Union
member States.
6.
European Roma, as the largest ethnic minority in the region, is the most visible
Roma population worldwide; the severe discrimination and marginalization its members
continue to experience has been widely reported.1 However, little comprehensive research
1
See, inter alia, http://fra.europa.eu/en/theme/roma; www.coe.int/en/web/portal/roma;
http://ec.europa.eu/justice/discrimination/roma/index_en.htm; www.osce.org/odihr/roma; and
www.romadecade.org. See also NGO reports, inter alia, Amnesty International, “Europe: Human
rights here, Roma rights now: A wake-up call to the European Union”, 4 April 2013, available from
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