Dr. Elizabeta Jonuz, Professor of Social Work with a focus on Migration and International Affairs at University of Applied Sciences and Arts Hannover

Prof. Jonuz, in 2021 you were a member of the Independent Commission on Antigypsyism (UKA), you were involved in an unprecedentedly comprehensive report on antigypsy attitudes in society. How do you view the Commission's work today? 

The report by the Independent Commission on Antigypsyism is - despite the empirical basis and well-founded findings presented for the first time - only the beginning of a fundamental change in perspective, which requires a policy of catch-up justice and the targeted support for the participation of Roma and Sinti self-organizations. Thanks to all the Roma and Sinti NGOs active in Germany, discussions with the five of Sinti and Roma umbrella organizations and the two community-based studies on experiences of racism (Randjelović et al. 2020) and empowerment (Barz et al. 2020), the current effects of the NS genocide have been revealed. This applies to the racism against Sinti and Roma that continued after 1945 as well as to the structural and institutional antigypsy racism of the present day. Whether in contact with regulatory and social authorities, the police, youth welfare offices and housing offices, job centers as well as employment agencies, access to education and medical care, basic human and civil rights are repeatedly violated. Children from Roma and Sinti families experience racism (Randjelović et al. 2020) as an instance of socialization in Germany. 

The Commission has drawn up numerous concrete proposals to combat antigypsyism - yet, according to MIA the number of antigypsy incidents doubled last year. What proposals have been implemented and where do you see a need for further action?

One very welcome implementation of UKA's demands is the appointment of the Federal Commissioner against Antigypsyism, Dr. Mehmet Daimagüler in 2022. The Advisory Board of the Commissioner against Antigypsyism was appointed in 2023. In addition to the MIA federal office in Berlin, five other reporting offices have been set up in Bavaria, Berlin, Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony to document racist incidents against Sinti and Roma. This represents a further implementation of one of the UKA's demands. All existing and future reporting and information centers for antigypsy/racist incidents must have a legal basis and appropriate financial resources for the consistent prosecution and punishment of racist/antigypsy crimes. It is also necessary to introduce a right to bring collective action against antigypsy/racist incidents, as in the case of the Memorial to the Sinti and Roma of Europe murdered under National Socialism as a result of the planned S-Bahn construction. However, this also includes discrimination in contacts with the judiciary, police, job centers, public order, social and school authorities, youth and urban planning offices and when it comes to accessing the education and healthcare system.

In June of this year, the federal government and the federal states decided to set up a permanent commission against antigypsyism. What do you hope to gain from this development?

The fact that 79 years after the liberation from National Socialism, Sinti and Roma are massively affected by racism points to a failure of German politics, German legislation and its application of the law. The defense against and denial of this experience is part of the problem, which is primarily a structural and institutional one and is evident, among other things, in the denial of services and legal entitlements, especially in institutions such as the immigration authorities, the BAMF, job centers, the police and the courts, the schools, the public order and social authorities, youth welfare and health offices. Many measures to overcome antigypsyism/racism against Sinti and Roma are the responsibility of the federal states (education, justice, police, etc.). This makes optimal cooperation and coordination between the federal government and the federal states, such as the reduction of institutional and structural discrimination, all the more important. It would be beneficial for Sinti and Roma to introduce compulsory racism-critical education and anti-discrimination training for civil servants, taking into account the specific forms of racism directed against Sinti and Roma. 

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