COMMEMORATING INTERNATIONAL ROMA DAY By Dr. Angel W. Colon-
Rivera April 8th marks International Roma Day – a day to
remember that Europe’s largest ethnic minority still faces anti-
Roma violence, violations of their human rights, discrimination,
and systematic marginalization, so that many have difficulty
meeting their basic human needs, such as education, housing,
health care and, in some cases, even clean water. In a number of
OSCE participating States, Roma live in segregated communities,
their children attend segregated schools, and they are
discriminated against in employment and other areas of public
life. In some OSCE countries, Roma are subject to violence or
threat of violence on a daily basis. The Helsinki Commission has
long monitored and reported on human rights violations against
Roma and other ethnic, linguistic and religious minorities. In
the early 1990s, the commission issued a series of reports on
OSCE countries making the transition from communism to democracy
– almost every report identifie