ITALY-ROMA-FINGERPRINTS

A Roma family hold banners reading „We are Sinti from Rome, Italians” during a demonstration organized by an humanitarian organization in Rome on July 10, 2008. A plan by the Italian government to fingerprint undocumented Roma and Sinti has sparked outrage among human rights groups and the EU who warn identifying people based on ethnicity can set a dangerous precedent. The European Parliament on Thursday called the fingerprinting of Roma in Italy a clear act of racial discrimination and urged the authorities to stop it. In a resolution, the EU assembly said the measure is not supported by EU human rights treaties and that EU citizens of Roma, or Gypsy, origin must not be treated differently from others in Italy, who are not required to submit their fingerprints. .AFP PHOTO / FILIPPO MONTEFORTE