Labour’s Antigypsyism/Anti-Roma Discrimination Policy

Introduction

1. The NEC will view any acts of discrimination, prejudice or hostility based on race as prejudicial and grossly detrimental to the Labour Party and its interests. Chapter 2, Clause I.11 of the Labour Party Rule Book applies to all members of the Labour Party. It provides:

2. “No member of the Party shall engage in conduct which in the opinion of the NEC is prejudicial, or in any act which in the opinion of the NEC is grossly detrimental to the Party. The NEC, ICB and NCC shall take account of any codes of conduct currently in force and shall regard any incident which in their view might reasonably be seen to demonstrate hostility or prejudice based on age; disability; gender reassignment or identity; marriage and civil partnership; pregnancy and maternity; race; religion or belief; sex; or sexual orientation as conduct prejudicial to the Party: these shall include but not be limited to incidents involving racism, antisemitism, Islamophobia or otherwise racist language, sentiments, stereotypes or actions, sexual harassment, bullying or any form of intimidation towards another person on the basis of a protected characteristic as determined by the NEC or ICB, wherever it occurs, as conduct prejudicial to the Party. The disclosure of confidential information relating to the Party or to any other member, unless the disclosure is duly authorised or made pursuant to a legal obligation, shall also be considered conduct prejudicial to the Party.”

3. This Code of Conduct on Antigypsyism/anti Roma discrimination supplements the “Code of Conduct: Antisemitism and other forms of racism,” reproduced in Appendix 7 to the Labour Party Rule Book. The NEC and NCC will take this Code of Conduct on Antigypsyism/anti-Roma discrimination into account when determining allegations of hostility or prejudice based on the protected characteristic of race.

4. Complaints of Antigypsyism/anti-Roma discrimination will be investigated and processed in accordance with the Labour Party’s disciplinary policies, which can be found on the Labour Party’s website and in the Labour Party Complaint Handling Handbook.

What is Antigypsyism/anti-Roma discrimination?

1. The Labour Party adopted the International Holocaust Memorial Alliance (IHRA) definition of Antigypsyism/anti-Roma discrimination and its examples in March 2022 as an important statement of principle and solidarity. The NEC reaffirms that position in this Code of Conduct.

2. Antigypsyism/anti-Roma discrimination is a manifestation of individual expressions and acts as well as institutional policies and practices of marginalization, exclusion, physical violence, devaluation of Roma cultures and lifestyles, and hate speech directed at Roma as well as other individuals and groups perceived, stigmatized, or persecuted during the Nazi era, and still today, as “Gypsies.” This leads to the treatment of Roma as an alleged alien group and associates them with a series of pejorative stereotypes and distorted images that represent a specific form of racism. The IHRA recognises the following to guide its work:

3. Antigypsyism/anti-Roma discrimination has existed for centuries. It was an essential element in the persecution and annihilation policies against Roma as perpetrated by Nazi Germany, and those fascist and extreme nationalist partners and other collaborators who participated in these crimes

4. Antigypsyism/anti-Roma discrimination did not start with or end after the Nazi era but continues to be a central element in crimes perpetrated against Roma. In spite of the important work done by the United Nations, the European Union, the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and other international bodies, the stereotypes and prejudices about Roma have not been delegitimized or discredited vigorously enough so that they continue to persist and can be deployed largely unchallenged.

5. Antigypsyism/anti-Roma discrimination is a multi-faceted phenomenon that has widespread social and political acceptance. It is a critical obstacle to the inclusion of Roma in broader society, and it acts to prevent Roma from enjoying equal rights, opportunities, and gainful social-economic participation.

Examples and further guidance

1. Many examples may be given to illustrate Antigypsyism/anti-Roma discrimination. Contemporary manifestations of Antigypsyism/anti-Roma discrimination could, taking into account the overall context, include, but are not limited to:

a. Distorting or denying persecution of Roma or the genocide of the Roma
b. Glorifying the genocide of the Roma.
c. Inciting, justifying, and perpetrating violence against Roma communities, their property, and individual Roma.
d. Forced and coercive sterilizations as well as other physically and psychologically abusive treatment of Roma.
e. Perpetuating and affirming discriminatory stereotypes of and against Roma.
f. Blaming Roma, using hate speech, for real or perceived social, political, cultural, economic and public health problems.
g. Stereotyping Roma as persons who engage in criminal behaviour.
h. Using the term “Gypsy” as a slur.
i. Approving or encouraging exclusionary mechanisms directed against Roma on the basis of racially discriminatory assumptions, such as the exclusion from regular schools and institutional procedures or policies that lead to the segregation of Roma communities.
j. Enacting policies without legal basis or establishing the conditions that allow for the arbitrary or discriminatory displacement of Roma communities and individuals.
k. Holding Roma collectively responsible for the real or perceived actions of individual members of Roma communities.
l. Spreading hate speech against Roma communities in whatever form, for example in media, including on the internet and on social networks.

2. The word “Roma” is used as an umbrella term which includes different related groups, whether sedentary or not, such as Roma, Travellers, Gens du voyage, Resandefolket/Deresande, Sinti, Camminanti, Manouches, Kalés, Romanichels, Boyash/Rudari, Ashkalis, Égyptiens, Yéniches, Doms, Loms and Abdal that may be diverse in culture and lifestyles. The present is an explanatory footnote, not a definition of Roma. Appendix 8 NEC Codes of Conduct Page 149

3. The Labour Party recognises that the IHRA Working Definition of Antigypsyism/Anti-Roma Discrimination Definition & Examples (“The IHRA Definition”) focusses on a Continental European understanding of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Communities. In adopting the IHRA Definition, the Labour Party therefore makes clear that it sees the definition and in particular its examples as equally applicable to the lives and experiences of GRT people and communities in the United Kingdom, including but not limited to Irish Travellers, as well as the Roma specified in the definition.