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P R 122011Z MAY 09
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE PRIORITY 0345
INFO ORG FOR SECURITY CO OP IN EUR COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS STATE 048450 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM OSCE PREL
SUBJECT: OSCE PERMANENT COUNCIL: STATEMENT ON THE 
INCREASING NUMBER OF ATTACKS ON ROMA 
 
¶1.  Post is authorized to present the following statement at 
the Permanent Council in Vienna on May 14. 
 
Begin text: 
 
Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. 
 
Rising intolerance and extremism characterized by incidents 
of discrimination and violence against ethnic and religious 
minorities in the OSCE region continue to come to our 
attention.  OSCE governments have the responsibility to 
protect the rights of all their citizens and residents, 
whatever their ethnic or religious background, and fully 
investigate and prosecute all crimes against them.  Recent 
incidents targeting Roma are particularly worrying.  On the 
eve of International Roma Day, we drew attention to the 
increasing number of violent attacks on the Roma within the 
OSCE region in a statement to the Permanent Council on April 
¶2.  However, we feel compelled by events over the past month 
to once again bring these concerns to the attention of 
participating States. 
 
The plight of Roma in several OSCE states remains precarious. 
 In one country, local police arrested and physically abused 
six Romani boys.  While we are pleased to note that those 
responsible are being punished, this incident demonstrates 
the need for increased training of law enforcement officials 
on anti-discrimination and other basic human rights 
principles. In another OSCE participating State, the murder 
of an elderly Romani man raises the number of Roma murdered 
in that one country to seven over the past year. Arsonists 
also recently set fire to the home of a local Romani official 
) the latest in a series of 50 violent attacks on Roma 
recorded in the last twelve months in what appears to be a 
pattern of ethnically-motivated violence.  In yet another 
OSCE participating State, a Romani home was firebombed, 
leading to critical injuries to a young child and her parents. 
 
Madam Chairwoman, last week's SHDM meeting on hate crimes was 
extremely useful in helping raise awareness about this 
problem.  Participants expressed concern about an increase in 
openly-expressed hostility toward minorities, and increasing 
numbers of hate crimes.  There are no simple answers, nor 
should we remain silent or simply shrug our shoulders. 
Action requires political leadership: condemning these 
attacks in clear and unequivocal terms and ensuring that the 
perpetrators of violent acts are prosecuted to the full 
extent of the law.  Governments have a special responsibility 
to ensure minority populations enjoy full rights as citizens 
and residents. Public officials need to speak out against 
ignorance, discrimination, and stereotyping.  We must ensure 
that Roma and other minority groups are not treated as 
scapegoats for the economic challenges all our countries 
face.  And we need to properly train police and investigators 
to identify, investigate and register hate crimes. 
 
We agree with the sentiments expressed by our 
Chairperson-in-Office and others during that session: we 
cannot afford to be complacent, and we need to act vigorously 
against this phenomenon.  Many proposals were made in the 
SHDM meeting that deserve further consideration, and perhaps 
also endorsement at the intergovernmental level.  A valuable 
first step by the Permanent Council might be an agreed 
political statement by all 56 nations in this hall indicating 
our concern, and calling on all countries to take specific 
steps to address this issue.  We are ready to work closely 
with all interested delegations on a declaration to this 
effect, with the goal of adopting it by next week's Permanent 
Council.  Over the course of the coming weeks, it might also 
be timely to review in detail the various proposals emerging 
from the SHDM with the intention of developing a formal 
decision for adoption by the PC or at the Athens Ministerial. 
 
End text. 
CLINTON