The President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, released the following statement:
«On the International Day of the Roma, Sinti and Travellers, I would like to express my best wishes to all the people who have their roots in the millennial culture of these ancient peoples and who today share their problems, difficulties and hopes.
By commemorating the first historical World Romani Congress held in London in 1971, this Day emphasises the value of remembrance, the precious lymph that keeps alive collective identity and consciousness, by participating in the positive development of the situations in which Roma families and communities are now integrated.
The Roma, Sinti and Travellers shared the indelible experience of the Porajmos, the holocaust of their peoples, with a terrifying tribute of blood in terms of the numbers and the suffering that the Nazi savagery inflicted on youth and elders, women and children. This tragedy rightfully belongs to the common history of Europe and constitutes a further call for responsibility to overcome prejudice, arbitrary generalisations and the residual diffidence that fuel discrimination, xenophobia and hostility.
The international conventions signed by our Country, starting with the 1954 Convention on the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, bind Italy to act in favour of the inclusion of persons and cultures, assuring equality of treatment in the exercise of individual rights, including economic and social rights.
The road of integration, in full respect of the freedom of expression of every culture, is a point of strength in our common European experience. »
Rome, 8 April 2018
