02/08/2026 President
PACE President Petra Bayr, together with an ad hoc committee of the Bureau, took part in the official ceremony marking European Roma Holocaust Memorial Day at the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial.
The annual commemoration honours the memory of the Roma and Sinti victims of the Holocaust, including the nearly 4,300 women, men and children murdered on the night of 2 August 1944 during the liquidation of the so-called "Gypsy family camp".
Addressing the ceremony, President Bayr underlined the importance of preserving the memory of the Porajmos – the Roma and Sinti genocide – while stressing that it must be remembered with the same names and the same grief as every other crime committed on this ground.
She also highlighted that remembrance is meaningful only when it leads to action, noting that Roma and Sinti continue to face discrimination in housing, education, employment and access to justice across Europe: "Memory only matters if it changes how we act tomorrow."
The Assembly's participation in the commemoration reflects its continued commitment to preserving the memory of the Roma and Sinti genocide and to promoting equality, inclusion and human dignity across Europe.
