Roma wall

A Roma wall or Gypsy wall is a wall built by local authorities in the Czech Republic, Romania and Slovakia to segregate the Roma minority from the rest of the population. Such practices have been criticised by both human rights organizations and the European Union, who see it as a case of racial segregation.

Czech Republic

A 2-metre high, 65-metre long wall along Matiční street was built in the city of Ústí nad Labem in 1999 following complaints of the locals that the Roma were "noisy and unhygienic".

Foreign journalists travelled to Ústí nad Labem to investigate, and were told by councillors that the wall was not meant to segregate by race, but to keep respectable citizens safe from noise and rubbish coming from the opposite side of the street. The local authorities also argued that it will keep the Roma children from running into the street and that it's part of an "urban renewal programme".

The Roma Civic Initiative and Deputy Prime Minister Vladimír Špidla vocally opposed the construction. The wall was also criticised by U.S. Congressman Chris Smith, and a delegation from the Council of Europe described it as a "racist" and drastic solution. The European Union Commissioner Günter Verheugen called it "a violation of human rights". The Czech Republic promised that it would be torn down, and it was demolished on 24 November 1999. The government provided the local authorities money for social welfare programmes, but much of the money was used for buying the houses of the non-Roma residents, thus creating a local Roma-only "ghetto".