The Non-governmental organization Association of Roma Women Voice of Romni, together with other Roma NGOs of Ukraine, strongly condemns the public remarks made by János Lázár, Minister of Construction and Transport of Hungary, which contain elements of discriminatory rhetoric, undermine the dignity of Roma women and men as an ethnic group, and contribute to the formation of harmful stereotypes and xenophobia.

In January 2026, during a public forum, Minister János Lázár stated:

“If there are no migrants, and someone has to clean the toilets on InterCity trains, and Hungarian voters do not have much enthusiasm for cleaning other people’s toilets, then we must draw on our internal reserves. And the internal reserve is the Gypsies in Hungary.”

We consider such statements by a high-ranking public official to be unacceptable. Public officials bear a particular responsibility for their words, as their statements influence public attitudes and may contribute to the spread of prejudice, stigmatization, and social exclusion of national minorities. The above-mentioned remarks are inconsistent with the principles of respect for human rights, equality, and non-discrimination, and contradict the fundamental values of the European Union — respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, and the rights of national minorities.

The Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, adopted on 1 February 1995 in Strasbourg by the Council of Europe, provides guarantees for the protection of national minority rights, ensures the principle of non-discrimination, and promotes effective equality in all areas of public life. As a Member State of the European Union and a signatory to this Convention, Hungary has undertaken obligations to ensure adequate protection of the rights of national communities at the national level.

We emphasize that generalizing and stereotyping an ethnic group by a representative of state authority does not comply with international human rights standards and creates risks of further social isolation and marginalization of the Roma community.

Roma women and men are an integral part of European society. In Ukraine, representatives of the Roma community, alongside other citizens, have been defending the state within the Armed Forces since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the russian federation, upholding freedom, democracy, and European values.

We call for responsible public communication grounded in the principles of respect, equality, and non-discrimination, as well as for adherence to international obligations in the field of protecting the rights of national minorities.

In light of the above, we appeal to the European Commission, the European Parliament, and the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Michael O’Flaherty, to provide an appropriate assessment of the public remarks made by an official of an EU Member State in terms of their compliance with the principles and values enshrined in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union.

We respectfully request:

– to pay attention to instances of public rhetoric that may contain elements of discrimination based on ethnicity;

– to ensure monitoring of EU Member States’ compliance with the principles of equality and non-discrimination;

– to strengthen EU policies aimed at protecting the rights of the Roma minority and combating antigypsyism;

– to emphasize the responsibility of public officials to uphold human rights standards in their communication.

We reaffirm our commitment to European values, the principles of democracy, and the rule of law, and we count on a consistent position of the European Union institutions in preventing discriminatory rhetoric in the public sphere.