Thomas Hammarberg

Human Rights Commissioner of the Council of Europe

Strengthening the rights of Sinti and Roma in Europe is a key focus of Thomas Hammarberg’s work. There is a “shameful lack” of attention in this area, says Hammarberg, born in 1942. He has given numerous speeches and issued many statements calling for an improvement of the current situation of Europe's largest minority and denouncing the current waves of anti-Ziganism.

Furthermore, under the aegis of Hammarberg’s efforts, detailed regional reports on the situation of Sinti and Roma in individual European countries have been issued.  In his most recent report, he criticises the Italian authorities in no uncertain terms regarding their treatment of relatives of Sinti and Roma minorities. In 2009, in an open letter to the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, Hammarberg demanded a moratorium on deportations of Roma to Kosovo, arguing they would be subjected to political persecution and forced to live in encampments there. One year later, he repeated this “urgent recommendation” in a letter to the German Minister of the Interior, Thomas de Mazière. A special commission initiated by Hammarberg described the Roma encampments in Kosovo as “a humanitarian catastrophe”. He also strongly criticised the massive deportations of Roma in France in 2010.

In May 2010 and in February 2012, he published extensive position papers on the situation of the human rights of Sinti and Roma. He emphasised the necessity of a uniform and extensive programme to improve the situation of Roma. The current rhetoric used against Roma is shockingly similar to that of the Nazis before the genocide began, says Hammarberg.

Through his sharp statements and support of the rights of Sinti and Roma, Hammarberg plays a major role in the discussions on this topic in Europe.