[Joint House and Senate Hearing, 113 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
ANTI-SEMITISM, RACISM AND DISCRIMINATION IN THE OSCE REGION
=======================================================================
HEARING
before the
COMMISSION ON SECURITY AND
COOPERATION IN EUROPE
ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
__________
JULY 22, 2014
__________
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COMMISSION ON SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE
LEGISLATIVE BRANCH COMMISSIONERS
SENATE
HOUSE
BENJAMIN CARDIN, Maryland, CHRISTOPHER SMITH, New Jersey,
Chairman Co-Chairman
SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, Rhode Island JOSEPH PITTS, Pennsylvania
TOM UDALL, New Mexico ROBERT ADERHOLT, Alabama
JEANNE SHAHEEN, New Hampshire PHIL GINGREY, Georgia
RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut MICHAEL BURGESS, Texas
ROGER WICKER, Mississippi ALCEE HASTINGS, Florida
SAXBY CHAMBLISS, Georgia LOUISE McINTOSH SLAUGHTER,
JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas New York
MIKE McINTYRE, North Carolina
STEVE COHEN, Tennessee
ANTI-SEMITISM, RACISM AND DISCRIMINATION IN THE OSCE REGION
----------
JULY 22, 2014
COMMISSIONERS
Page
Hon. Benjamin L. Cardin, Chairman, Commission on Security and
Cooperation in Europe.......................................... 1
Hon. John Boozman, Commissioner, Commission on Security and
Cooperation in Europe.......................................... 4
MEMBER
Hon. Steny Hoyer, Member of Congress from the State of Maryland.. 7
WITNESSES
Rabbi Andrew Baker, Personal Representative of the CiO on
Combating Anti-Semitism, Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe.......................................... 4
Professor Talip Kucukcan, Personal Representative of CiO on
Combating Intolerance against Muslims, Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe............................. 9
Alexey Avtonomov, Personal Representative CiO on Racism,
Xenophobia and Discrimination, also focusing on Intolerance and
Discrimination against Christians and Members of Other
Religions, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. 11
Azra Junuzovic, Deputy Chief of Tolerance and Non-Discrimination
Unit, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe...... 15
APPENDICES
Prepared Statement of Hon. Benjamin L. Cardin.................... 19
Prepared Statement of Hon. Christopher Smith..................... 21
Prepared Statement of Hon. Alcee Hastings........................ 22
Prepared Statement of Hon. Steny Hoyer........................... 24
Prepared Statement of Rabbi Andrew Baker......................... 25
Prepared Statement of Alexey Avtonomov........................... 31
Prepared Statement of Professor Talip Kucukcan................... 33
Prepared Statement of Azra Junuzovic............................. 35
ANTI-SEMITISM, RACISM AND DISCRIMINATION IN THE OSCE REGION
----------
JULY 22, 2014
Commission on Security and Cooperation In Europe,
Washington, DC.
The hearing was held from 10:03 a.m. to 11:03 a.m. EDT in
Room 562 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C.,
Senator Benjamin L. Cardin, Chairman of the Commission on
Security and Cooperation in Europe, presiding.
Commissioners present: Hon. Benjamin L. Cardin, Chairman,
Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe. Hon. John
Boozman, Commissioner, Commission on Security and Cooperation
in Europe.
Witnesses present: Rabbi Andrew Baker, Personal
Representative of the CiO on Combating Anti-Semitism,
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe; Alexey
Avtonomov, Personal Representative CiO on Racism, Xenophobia
and Discrimination, also focusing on Intolerance and
Discrimination against Christians and Members of Other
Religions, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe;
Professor Talip Kucukcan, Personal Representative of CiO on
Combating Intolerance against Muslims, Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe; and Azra Junuzovic, Deputy
Chief of Tolerance and Non-Discrimination Unit, Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
HON. BENJAMIN CARDIN, CHAIRMAN, COMMISSION ON SECURITY AND
COOPERATION IN EUROPE
Mr. Cardin: Well, let me welcome you all to the Helsinki
Commission. I expect we'll be joined shortly by some of my
colleagues from the House side of the Commission. They have a
little bit longer walk from the House side to get over here,
but we welcome our three personal representatives to the OSCE
chair on the tolerance agenda, and we always look forward to
this hearing to get an update as to the circumstances within
the OSCE region on tolerance.
Quite frankly, we think it's more critical at this moment
because of world circumstances, and we very much look forward
to this hearing. The Helsinki Commission has worked long and
hard on the tolerance agenda, and we take special note of our
role in the creation of these three Personal Representatives to
the OSCE Chair-in-Office.
It was the work of the Helsinki Commission many years ago,
first concentrating on the rise of anti-Semitism--and I do want
to acknowledge the work of three of my colleagues--Congressman
Hoyer, the chairman emeritus of the Helsinki Commission,
Congressman Hastings, who was the Chairman of the Helsinki
Commission for a good part of time, and Congressman Smith, who
is now the House Chair of the Helsinki Commission. All three
are laudable members. I take pride in my own participation in
having the Helsinki Commission concentrate on the rise of anti-
Semitism to take that work to the OSCE parliamentary
assemblies, and I remember many discussions with colleagues
from other countries as to what we could do on an action agenda
to combat anti-Semitism, and it led up to the Berlin conference
on anti-Semitism that took place 10 years ago.
The work that was accomplished at that Berlin conference--
and many of the people that are here were part of that, and I
was proud to be part of the U.S. delegation to the Berlin
conference and the good work came out of that meeting 10 years
ago. There was an acknowledgment by the countries in the OSCE
that there was a problem, and they needed to do something about
it. So an action plan was adopted that included Holocaust
education--to what good police work is involved in dealing with
tolerance, the requests for information concerning hate crimes
in all of our states was part--came out of the Berlin
Conference. The responsibility of government leaders to speak
out against intolerance came out of the Berlin Conference, and
the Personal Representative for Combating Anti-Semitism was one
of the results of the--of the Berlin Conference.
As we know, we now have three Personal Representatives
dealing with not just anti-Semitism, but dealing with anti-
Muslim activities and dealing with xenophobia and racism and
anti-Christian activities, and ODIHR--they're here today has
been the focal point for the coordination of the work dealing
with tolerance.
So today, we are updating what is happening, and we're at
the 10th anniversary of the Berlin Conference, and we
anticipate later this fall that there will be a gathering in
Germany to assess where we have been in regards to combating
anti-Semitism. And the other forms of intolerance--and I very
much believe that they're--all three related--a community
that's vulnerable to hate crimes against Jews is a community
that's vulnerable towards hate crimes towards people of African
descent is a community that is vulnerable to hate crimes
against Muslims. It's a community that's vulnerable to hate
crimes against Christian minorities, so it's all--and hate
crimes against the Roma population. They're all very much
related to these issues.
But let me just point out, in regards to anti-Semitism,
some of the most recent events that have me extremely
concerned. There was the EU fundamental rights agency, last
year, that did a survey that found that in three European
countries--Hungary, France and Belgium, between 40 to 48
percent of the Jewish population is in fear of their own
safety, so much so that they are considering emigrating to
Israel. That's an alarming number.
The Anti-Defamation League surveyed 100 countries and said
there is persistent anti-Semitic prejudice in the countries
that were surveyed. We've seen violence in the United States--
in Kansas, three people were killed at a Jewish community
center. In May, in Brussels, three people were killed outside
of a Jewish museum. So it has really--we've seen the outbreak
and concern. I had a friend who recently came back from France
and told me that he could sense--he's Jewish, and he could
sense the anti-Semitism as he was visiting that country--the
outward feeling that you get when you know that you're not
welcome in certain places.
So it is a major area of concern, but here is what really
has me concerned. Ten years ago, when we were talking about the
tolerance agenda in Berlin, we knew that we had a problem with
communities, but we knew that governments were on our side.
They were prepared to take action to fight the intolerance.
Today, we see governments taking actions that support the
intolerance and are not openly working to fight intolerance.
That is of great concern because I don't want to say we're at
where we were leading up to World War II, but the problems
leading up to World War II is when governments took direct
action to support intolerance and prejudice, and we see those
signs developing today in Europe, and that has us gravely
concerned.
In Hungary and Greece, extremist parties are associated
with street militias. We know in Greece the problems of the
Golden Dawn party in regards to open anti-Semitism. In Hungary,
the Jobbik party, which is the second most significant party
from the point of view of representation in that country, has
taken direct steps to promote anti-Semitism.
In Hungary, we've seen not only a monument that was erected
to glorify a World War II anti-Semite, but we also see, in the
middle of the night, Hungary set up a memorial to the 1944
German occupation in a way that was offensive to the Jewish
community. So there are direct governmental issues, and then,
on June 2nd, the Supreme Court issuing a finding in Hungary
that basically says that you can't criticize the Jobbik Party.
These are all areas of grave concern.
The State Department report verifies a lot of what we are
saying here--the rise of xenophobia and anti-Semitic Jobbik
Party, which has called for the creation of a list of Jewish
public officials, repeated the historic blood libel against
Jews and labeled Jews as a national security risk. So there are
reasons for us to be concerned about what's happening by
governments, not just communities--not just individuals, but
what's happening by governments. We're seeing laws that are
passed that inhibit Jews from being able to practice their
religion on Kosher foods, on wearing a head covering. We've
also seen it against the Muslim communities, we know, with the
Burka restrictions that have been imposed that are offensive to
Muslims and insulting to Muslims.
So we are concerned about what is happening in the
tolerance area--not only as it relates to Jews but as it
relates to minorities, as it relates to the Roma population,
the Christian population. I'd note that ODIHR is going to have
a meeting this fall of people of African descent leaders. We
appreciate the leadership that has been demonstrated there.
The purpose of this hearing is to determine how we, the
United States--how the Helsinki Commission, which, over a
decade ago, led the charge in regards to OSCE's sensitivity to
tolerance--how we again can provide the leadership so that OSCE
can be a leader in government responsibility for promoting
tolerance for all people. And with that, let me turn it over to
Senator Boozman, and thank you very much for being with us
today.
HON. JOHN BOOZMAN, COMMISSIONER, COMMISSION ON SECURITY AND
COOPERATION IN EUROPE
Mr. Boozman. Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman, for holding
this very important hearing, and I certainly want to associate
myself with your remarks. I think, in the interest of time,
what I'd like to do is ask unanimous consent to put my
statement in the record with votes and things like that, and
then go ahead and----
Mr. Cardin. I thank you very much, and I should point out,
as Senator Boozman has already pointed out, that there will be
a series of votes on the Senate floor beginning at around a
quarter of 11:00 this morning, which--we will try to continue
the hearing, depending upon the House participation, and I
don't know what the vote situation is in the House, but if not,
we will have to take a recess at that particular time.
So with that in mind, let me turn to our three Personal
Representatives who are here, and once again, thank you very
much for being here, and thank you very much for your
commitment on these issues. Rabbi Andrew Baker, the Personal
Representative for Combating Anti-Semitism, well-known to our
commission. Professor Talip Kucukcan--we thank you very much
for being here--the Personal Representative on Combating anti-
tolerance and discrimination against Muslims.
Alexey Avtonomov--sorry for how I must have mispronounced
that--the Personal Representative on Combating Racism,
Xenophobia and Discrimination, and also focusing on Intolerance
and Discrimination against Christians and Members of other
Religions, you have a broad agenda in dealing with all those
particular issues. And Azra Junuzovic from the ODIHR. We
appreciate you being here. We understand that you're a resource
to answer the really tough questions that the three Personal
Representatives wish to defer to you. So we appreciate your
presence here and we appreciate the work of ODIHR.
With that, we'll start with Rabbi Baker. As is the practice
of our commission, your full statements will be made part of
the commission record. You may proceed as you wish.
RABBI ANDREW BAKER, PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE OF CiO ON COMBATING
ANTI-SEMITISM, ORGANIZATION FOR SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN
EUROPE
Mr. Baker. Senator Cardin, thank you very much. And thank
you for your leadership in this entire issue. As you yourself,
in your remarks, indicated--and I have a memory going back
those 10 years and more--much of what has happened at the OSCE
in the creation of now a full department at ODIHR to deal with
tolerance and nondiscrimination leading up to significant
conferences and the creation of our respective mandates really
started here, and started with your efforts and that of your
colleagues. And without that, I think none of this would have
really emerged. So it really is a personal pleasure to be here.
While it's a personal pleasure, we meet at a very difficult
time. The ongoing conflict right now in Gaza has sparked anti-
Israel demonstrations in many places, with notably large
numbers of angry protesters in several European capitals. Many
are carrying placards and spewing rhetoric that's clearly anti-
Semitic. A week ago in Paris, crowds shouted ``Death to the
Jews'' and laid siege, literally, to a synagogue with 200
worshippers inside. It led the Interior Minister to impose a
ban on some of these demonstrations, though they have still
continued. You've had similar outbursts in other European
capitals--cities, in Germany, in the U.K., in Italy.
As you noted, at the Berlin conference 10 years ago a
declaration was adopted, and that declaration stated that we,
the collective countries, participating states then numbering
55, declare unambiguously that international developments or
political issues, including those in Israel or elsewhere in the
Middle East, never justify anti-Semitism. While events taking
place today in the OSCE region show how important it is to
remember those words and to remind governments that they are
part of that collective statement, they're a rebuke to those
who would still seek to somehow excuse the anti-Semitism or
rationalize it. And they're a clear call to political leaders
to speak loudly and act quickly to condemn the anti-Semitic
attacks and ensure that all available legal measures are taken
to prevent further outbreaks.
I'm pleased to note that even today at the meeting of EU
foreign ministers in Brussels, there was a collective--a joint
statement by three ministers--those of France, of Germany and
of Italy--that essentially expressed this same position, that
there is no place for anti-Semitism and that this--these
demonstrations must be curtailed when they turn into anti-
Semitic acts and expressions, and that they said we will do
everything in our countries together to ensure that all of our
citizens can continue to live unmolested by anti-Semitic
hostility, and in peace and security, which was an important
intervention at this time.
I would like to have--I would have liked at this meeting to
be able to report to you on an extensive experience in this
role as a Personal Representative. We are already six months
past our appointment by the current Chair-In-Office. This is,
unfortunately, our first joint visit to be taken. Another is
scheduled in September for Denmark. We hope to have still
another later in the year to Russia. But I think the importance
of these issues show that there's much more that we could have
been doing during these months that have already passed.
I would like as well to point out--and you have a more
complete report of this in the record that I did make my own
visit to Ukraine in late April. It was responding to really
what was an extraordinary situation at the time and the
heightened attention that was being given and different parties
making charges of anti-Semitism. That report has been
completed. It's been issued. You have a full copy of it, which,
if you'd like, we can--we can discuss in further detail. But
one of the critical issues was separating out anti-Semitism
that was really being fomented by provocateurs, by outside
actors, from what was more indigenous, shall we say, to
Ukraine. There are of course other troubling developments in
this issue, in this area throughout the OSCE region, which I
would at least quickly like to highlight.
You mentioned the violence that took place earlier this
year, the murders in Brussels at the Jewish museum. Frankly, it
heightened the very real problem of Jewish community security.
This is something that the OSCE took up at a high-level expert
conference a year ago in Berlin resulting in a series of civil
society recommendations--again, something you'd find appended
to my full testimony. But what happened in Brussels points out
the dilemma that Jewish communities confront. They have an
enormous security burden. It's a combination both of potential
terrorist attacks and what we see now, radical jihadists
returning from Syria looking for local targets, trained, armed
and, again, radicalized by that experience.
Even when I met in my role with officials in the Interior
Ministry of Belgium, they acknowledged that the security level,
the threat level facing Jewish institutions, was similar to
that facing the American embassies or the Israeli embassy in
Brussels. But they have nothing like the security needed or the
security that those institutions receive, so more really must
be done to address this issue of community security.
And as you noted, 10 years ago was the seminal Berlin
conference of the OSCE and declaration that was issued at the
time. And I'm pleased to be able to say that there will be a
high-level 10th anniversary event. It is scheduled for Berlin.
It should take place on November 11th through the 13th. It will
include, at the beginning, a very full and robust NGO civil
society forum. As you recall, that was a significant component
10 years ago. I'll be in Berlin next week, hopefully to try and
finalize the logistical aspects of this. But it's an event all
the more looking at what's taking place today that should be a
focus of energy, attended by, I would hope, another American
delegation and by governments at a high level.
We do know and expect the German foreign minister to
preside; the Swiss Chair-In-Office, Federation Foreign
minister, also to be present. And I hope our government will be
there at an equally high level, again to be able to reiterate,
to look back at the commitments that were made but in many
cases unmet by various governments, and hopefully to try and
focus attention and continue this really ongoing struggle.
So let me thank you for this opportunity. And let me, as I
close, just pay a special word of thanks to Representative
Steny Hoyer, who was--as you said, he was here at the
beginning, but he was really here before the beginning, I
think--in moving these issues. So it's really wonderful to see
him here today. Thank you, Senator.
Mr. Cardin. Thank you, Rabbi Baker.
Before Congressman Hoyer arrived, I referred to him as the
Chairman Emeritus of the Helsinki Commission, and I think that
is the appropriate title for Congressman Hoyer. During the days
of the Soviet Union, he was the most outspoken member of the
United States Congress on standing up for the rights of people
within the Iron Curtain that had no voice, but for the work
that was done here, and I was proud to be part of many of those
delegations to Eastern Europe at the time to stand up for basic
rights and--under the leadership of Congressman Hoyer, and the
tolerance agenda clearly was forwarded by his leadership when
he was chairman of the U.S. Helsinki Commission. So I'm going
to interrupt at this moment and give Emeritus Chairman Hoyer an
opportunity to be heard.
HON. STENY HOYER, MEMBER FROM THE STATE OF MARYLAND
Mr. Hoyer. Well, thank you very much, Chairman Cardin, and
Senator Boozman, thank you very much for being here. Rabbi
Baker, thank you for your comments, and witnesses, thank you
for your not only being here, but for your focus, your energy
and your intellectual power being applied to the issue of
racism, anti-Semitism, and discrimination on the basis of
irrelevant aspects of personality or gender or place. It's
critically important that we live in a country that expresses a
view that all men are created equal, and endowed by God with
inalienable rights. Protecting those rights is an ongoing,
daily experience for those of good will who want to see a world
in which that principle is respected. So I am very pleased to
be here with you. When I retire from Congress--Rabbi Baker, you
said I was here before the beginning--I am old, but I was not
here before the beginning. (Laughter.) But I appreciate what
you meant by that, and thank you very much.
But I have been involved in this process for a very long
time, and when I retire from Congress 20 years from now or
thereabouts, I will look back on--one of the most important
aspects of my--some--now 34 years in the Congress of the United
States--was my service on the Commission on Security and
Cooperation in Europe and my participation with other nations,
mainly in Europe on trying to bring the principles--
particularly Basket III of the Helsinki Final Act to
realization as realities in countries, not simply articulated
principles.
I also want to take the liberty of--I think you saw me come
in and embrace a number of these staff members with whom I have
worked almost all of my Congressional career and who have
brought such extraordinary expertise to this effort and such
passion to this effort, so I thank them very much for their
continuing service. And those who are new, I thank them as well
for involving themselves.
I want to thank the Commission for conducting this critical
hearing, as well as to extend my gratitude to the three
witnesses, and to you, Madam Secretary, each of whom serves a
critical function in advancing the OSCE's mission of protecting
freedom and democracy. The Soviets thought that the Helsinki
Final Act, signed in 1975, were simply words. Vaclav Havel gave
a speech to a joint session of Congress in which he said he
thought Czechoslovakia and Helsinki activists were empowered
that ultimately led to the fall of the Iron Curtain. Nowhere is
that mission, signed onto in '75, more visible today than in
Ukraine, where OSCE personnel have helped oversee elections,
monitored the border, and reported on key security
developments. OSCE is, in fact, on the front lines of the
somber work of collecting bodies from the wreckage of Malaysian
flight 17 and securing the crash site.
In the Helsinki Final Act, signed in '75, the participating
states made this declaration: the participating states will
respect human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the
freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief for all,
without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion.
It went on to say that they recognize the universal
significance of human rights and fundamental freedoms, respect
for which is an essential factor in the peace, justice and
well-being necessary to ensure the development of friendly
relations and cooperation among themselves, as among all
states.
The Helsinki Final Act, of course, was a reaction to the
horrific concept that how a nation treats its own people is not
the business of any other nation. We have rejected that
thought, that we have adopted, essentially, the international
premise that we are our brother's keeper. Your work, as
Personal Representatives to the OSCE on these issues is
integral to the organization's overall effort.
Never has your work been more important--and I speak of the
OSCE and this commission--anti-Semitism and other forms of
racism and xenophobia have been on the rise in recent years in
the OSCE region, the region where it least ought to be on the
rise. It ought not to be on the rise anywhere at any time for
any justification, but least of all in Europe and in this
nation. In recent days, we have seen disturbing protests in
France and elsewhere that have included anti-Semitic attacks.
I sent a letter last week to the president of the Abravanel
Synagogue in Paris expressing solidarity with his congregation
in light of an incident on July 13th in which a mob protesting
Israel's defensive actions against Hamas besieged the synagogue
and began throwing stones and other objects at the building and
its security guards.
We have seen this play before. It must not have another
act. At the same time, we hear too frequently of anti-Semitic
and other racist chants at sporting events across the
continent, as well as entertainers who make comments
disparaging the Holocaust and celebrating Nazism, one of the
most horrific ideologies pursued by mankind. We've seen what
these forces can do, and we must never forget the tragedies of
the 20th century that took so many innocent lives.
Russia's proxy war to defend minorities, as they call it,
in Ukraine, is particularly offensive in light of this history.
It cuts to the very order the OSCE and its supporters. The
first and second World Wars were instigated, in part, as a
result of the pretext of protecting ethnic minorities abroad.
My view is that this Commission--this country--people who
express the principles of freedom and justice and fairness need
to speak out and to act out to prevent this growth and the
manifestations of this hate that it reflects. I thank the
Commission for continuing to make this issue a priority and for
making a strong stand against these forms and any forms of
hatred that threaten to undermine our freedom.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Cardin. Congressman Hoyer, thank you so much for your--
for your statement. More importantly, thank you for your
commitment to the tolerance agenda. We will now turn to
Professor Kucukcan, and we look forward to your comments.
PROFESSOR TALIP KUCUKCAN, PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE CiO ON
COMBATING INTOLERANCE AGAINST MUSLIMS, ORGANIZATION FOR
SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE
Ms. Kucukcan. Well, thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I am
thankful to those who are organizing the Commission for giving
us the opportunity to express our views and share our
recommendations. I will be reporting on what's happening with
the Muslims in the OSCE region. First, I would like to share
the findings of some of the large-scale research carried out by
the EU Fundamental Rights Agency, Pew Research and Gallup that
show intolerance against Muslims, and also, Islamophobia, is on
the increase in the OSCE region.
This is taking place, in fact, in the context in which
Islam and Muslims are seen in a monolithic fashion, and the
perceptions, especially perpetrated by the leading political
figures in some countries and in the media--especially in
recent years--in social media are contributing to the rise of
monolithic and essentialist perceptions of Muslims. And in
those perceptions, what we see is that Islam and Muslims are
usually associated with violence and intolerance, and Muslims
are seen as incompatible with Democratic values, and Western
values are usually seen as superior when it comes to Islam.
And the Runnymede Trust Report, which was established in
Britain in the 1960s, also indicates that there are widespread
misinformed and biased views of Muslims, and sometimes, of
course, those views and perceptions are translated into acts
among the public. And also, Muslims especially, where they are
in minority, are seen as not being able to integrate into the
society--especially, this is the case in France and in other
places where some of the Muslim traditions are not allowed to
be practiced, like ritual slaughtering, head scarf issues like
the Chairman has alluded to, and also circumcision issues.
These are fundamental rights of the Muslims but, in some cases,
they are not able to practice. I think there are similar issues
with the Jewish communities around these areas.
Maybe one can also see that some areas can also be seen
with other communities, especially when it comes to ethnicity,
race and religion. These are the issues that should be brought
together. And maybe cooperation could be established in order
to fight intolerance and discrimination on the basis of faith
and religious belongings in the OSCE region.
These essentialist perceptions also led to the
securitization of Islam and Muslims in Europe and elsewhere,
even in this country, especially since 9/11. And what we see is
that there's a trend towards the securitization of Islam,
representing Muslims as threats to Democratic values.
Therefore, what we have seen in those areas, is that anti-
terror laws curtail some of the civil liberties, and religious
profiling has started in some of the OSCE countries.
In Germany, for example, we have never seen before the
search of the mosques. In the last couple of years, we have
seen the rise of intelligence gathering on mosques and imams in
several countries that have also, I think, a violation of basic
human rights for Muslims. These kinds of profiling and
intelligence gathering on the basis of religion continue in
different degrees today.
Despite the fact that Muslims are concerned, also do not
approve the radical views, especially as seen in the last Pew
poll which indicate that more than 80 percent of Muslims are
concerned with radicalism and they do not approve of it. But
generally in the media, in the political discourse, Muslims are
seen as extremists and I think time to time that leads to
feelings of intolerance against Muslims in many places.
And especially in the last European Parliament's elections,
we have seen the rise of far-right movements and racist parties
in Europe. And they have--especially in three countries,
Britain, France and Denmark--they have expressed a hatred
against Muslims and other minorities. And social media is an
important site where one should look at very carefully.
There are, of course, different sites where we can see the
intolerance and anti-Muslim activities in the world. For
example, instances of anti-Muslim rhetoric by politicians and
public figures posting on the Internet and other forms of
social media. The nexus of intolerance, hate--or crime--one
might call it cyberhate and intolerant discourse against
Muslims is an issue that participating states need to address.
While acknowledging the challenge for participating states
to ensure the freedom of expression, they also have a duty to
promptly renounce hate speeches by public officials and ensure
robust intervention whenever comments expressed pose a threat
to Muslim individuals and communities. What we see actually in
many European countries and in OSCE countries, there is not a
regular reporting of the hate crimes against Muslims. I think
only in several countries--Austria, Serbia, Sweden and the
United States--do you have such activities.
Therefore Muslims are not able to--or not encouraged to
report some of the assaults and threats against imams or
physical attacks on Muslim women wearing head scarf and
desecration of mosques and other Islamic sites simply because
they believe that their complaints will not be taken on board
by the authorities. I would like to end up with a set of
expectations and recommendations that could be taken further.
First, it should be acknowledged that the intolerance
against Muslims is not a problem of--only for Muslims. It is a
human rights problem concerning everyone. Second, integration
policies, especially in places where Muslims are the minority,
should address the social and economic needs of Muslims in the
countries that they are residing. Especially after the economic
crisis in many countries, we see that minorities, including
Muslims, are becoming targets increasingly.
The third, senior government leaders should send immediate,
strong, public and consistent messages that violent crimes
which appear to be motivated by prejudice and intolerance
against Muslims will be investigated thoroughly and prosecuted
to the full extent of the law.
Fourth, recognizing the particular harm caused by violent
crimes, governments should enact laws that establish specific
offenses or provide enhanced penalties for violent crimes
against Muslims. We have seen, for example, that is a welcome
development in many countries, the Holocaust or denial of
Holocaust or anti-Semitism is a punishable crime. Therefore,
Islamaphobia or hatred against Muslim on the basis of religion
should be a punishable crime as well.
Fifth, governments should ensure that those responsible for
hate crimes against Muslims are held accountable under the law,
that the enforcement of hate crime laws is a priority for the
criminal justice system and that the record of the enforcement
is well-documented and published. Sixth, governments should
maintain official systems of monitoring and public supporting
to provide actual data for informed policy decisions to combat
violent hate crimes against Muslims. These are taking place,
but on a very minor level, not sufficient enough.
Seventh, governments should conduct outreach and education
efforts to Muslim communities and civil society groups to
reduce fear and assist victims, advance police-community
relations, encourage improved reporting of hate crimes to the
police and improve the quality of data collection by law
enforcement buddies. Lastly members of parliament and local
government leaders should be held politically accountable for
bigoted words that encourage discrimination and violence and
create a climate of fear for minorities, including Muslims.
Thank you for your attention.
Mr. Cardin. Well, Professor, thank you for your testimony.
I think your recommendations are extremely important to us and
we know that we've taken the issue of hate crimes, that you
need to know--you need police training and you need to be able
to identify hate crimes. And we have to have statistics on it.
And that's one of the major efforts that we've made in the
United States at the national level. And we thank you so much
for your testimony.
We now turn to Mr. Avtonomov. Thank you very much for being
here.
ALEXEY AVTONOMOV, PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE CiO ON RACISM,
XENOPHOBIA AND DISCRIMINATION, ALSO FOCUSING ON INTOLERANCE AND
DISCRIMINATION AGAINST CHRISTIANS AND MEMBERS OF OTHER
RELIGIONS, ORGANIZATION FOR SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE
Mr. Avtonomov. Thank you very much for giving me the floor
and thank you for the invitation. I think it's very important
for us just to have a joint visit in the United States and to
discuss all these problems. Thanks, I would like just to turn
to my colleague and thank Helsinki Commission for this meeting
and for the discussion.
My mandate is one of the most--the vastest, the broadest
among all three Personal Representatives. And that is why I
don't mean just to repeat what they have already said. And I
think that it's very important just to stress that the hate
crimes and the hate speech is rising all the time. And not long
ago, when the thought that xenophobia and hate crimes might be
eliminated completely, but unfortunately during the last years,
especially during the economic crisis period, we noticed that
there was a constant rise of the hate speech and trying to
blame all the problems upon those who are minorities from this
or that point.
I mean, just ethnic minorities, language minorities,
religious minorities and so on and so forth. And so it's a
great problem. I'm very thankful to ODHIR, who is preparing
annual reports on the hate crimes. And this report gives us a
lot of information in this field and shows that all the--all
the problems are more acute during the economic crisis and so
the economic difficulties also make a great contribution to the
rise of xenophobia and discrimination and hate crimes.
I'm very grateful just that Romani ethnicity was mentioned
as well because they are also victims. During the second World
War they were, along with Jews, they also were victims and
proclaimed just to be eliminated completely--they were two
nations who were proclaimed by Nazis to be eliminated--Jews and
Roma. It's also problem for us. I'm trying just to find
information about Roma from the United States. I understand
that probably there is not any problem, but we know that we
need some information to understand what is going on.
I am very grateful for any other information about, for
example, people of African descent, all efforts and all
affirmative actions that were just made by the United States.
Still in this field, especially in the field of justice
assistance to the OSCE, to provide some--to provide research
work and roundtables dealing with people of African descent,
all efforts and all affirmative actions that were just made by
the United States. Still, in this field, especially in the
field of just assistance to the OSCE to provide some--to
provide research work and roundtables dealing with people of
African descent, I think that's important, and the United
States shows us an example.
Because of the information that were collected inside the
United States, we know better the situation now as well actions
in favor of--in favor of elimination of discrimination of
people of African descent, but still are narrow. And we receive
information from different NGOs that the structural
discrimination still exists in the United States and in many
other countries of the OSCE. But I think that the collection of
information is one of the main tasks, just to understand--to
understand the problem and just to find the solution for them--
for the problem.
So I think that, as well, Christians are considered to be
dominant religion in the majority of OSCE countries, but
still--but actually we're faced with the problems of anti-
Christian actions as well, and not only from a--anti-Semitic
but as well anti-Christian, which is probably surprising. But I
think that any problem which is not faced by the people, and
the problem which is not tried to be resolved, may arise and
may bring us to the difficult situations.
Unfortunately, the majority of the OSCE countries, despite
of the fact that they proclaimed collection of data, didn't
collect enough data. And I know that only a few countries are
collecting the data. And according to the--to the Holy See, for
example, during the last--during the--during the previous year
there were 12 actions in the OSCE countries which has anti-
Christianic nature, different actions in the different fields.
But I think that the struggle against any kind of xenophobia
and intolerance may bring us to the situation of better
understanding of different religions, different ethnic groups
and different linguistic groups, which is very important.
So I don't mean just to be very talkative. We don't have a
long time to discuss all the questions. So that's why--let me
just to thank once more the Helsinki Commission for this
invitation and for the discussion. Thank you very much.
Mr. Cardin. Well, thank you, all three of you, for your
contributions. And it's good to have all three of you together.
I know that's the desire of the Chair-In-Office that we share
the information from all three of the Representatives, so we
appreciate that.
I want to start, if I might, on an issue that has been
brought up, and that is when international events occur it is
used at times to justify intolerance. And I recall very vividly
after the attack on our country on September the 11th that the
Muslim community was particularly vulnerable. I was very proud
of leaders of our country appearing openly with the Muslim
community to express support and to act in a responsible
manner. I've called--I visited several mosques during that
period of time.
And I think that it's important that leaders stand up
during these particular moments. I remember during the Berlin
conference, the intervention by the Vatican dealing with no
justification for historical events for anti-Semitic
activities, and I thought that was an incredibly important
moment in dealing with dispelling international events as
justification for intolerance. Recently, obviously with the
problems between Hamas and Israel, that could affect, as Rabbi
Baker has pointed out, the anti-Semitism in Europe particularly
but also anti-Muslim activities in the United States.
So are we seeing government leaders take positions very
clearly that there is no justification for anti-Muslim or anti-
Semitic activities during these upticks of international events
that could be used to justify such actions? Where are the
leaders, Rabbi Baker?
Mr. Baker. Well, we've seen some responses. I guess the
question is, how quickly did they come, how forcefully, and by
how many? Several people referenced what has gone on in France.
And you did have, over the weekend, a very strong statement by
the French Prime Minister, another statement by President
Hollande. But as you pointed out, French Jewry, the largest
community in Europe, has an enormous level of anxiety, even
questions about their future in the country. So these are
important statements.
I referenced earlier a joint statement by three foreign
ministers. But for the most part, I think these almost are the
exceptions. It's not quick and genuine to see these responses.
They still need to be encouraged. I think the culture may be a
different one than what we're used to in the United States
where a lot of church leaders, opinion leaders, others more
reflexively will speak out. I think that's something that we're
trying to--trying to push, trying to encourage, again,
reference to that declaration 10 years ago.
One of the other dilemmas, just to let me cite--even with
these strong words, what we've seen in places--France again a
good example--political leaders sometimes describe this as a
manifestation of intercommunal tension, as though these are two
minorities outside of the mainstream who are somehow battling
with each other. Nothing could be further from the truth.
First of all, it separates them, certainly Jews in France,
from understanding, as full and longtime citizens of the
country, and also suggesting a kind of equivalency here, which
is, frankly, not the case. So I think words are important,
speaking out quickly is important, but also caution in trying
to somehow deflect this as though these are intercommunal
fights when in reality they're not.
Mr. Cardin. Are we doing enough in the United States with
leadership to protect the Muslim community during these times?
Ms. Kucukcan. Certainly there has been responsible
leadership, but also the research indicates that there has been
some religious profiling, et cetera. I think when we compare
the United States to European countries, we have seen that the
United States provides a wider atmosphere for freedom of
religion for organizations, for, you know, communities, et
cetera, et cetera. But the 9/11 has a spillover effect all over
the world. I think that is what matters.
And maybe the United States overcomes this issue, but if
you look at some of the OSCE countries, still we see that
Muslims are seen as a threat, if you look at the laws and
regulations, especially anti-terror rules for example. Yes, of
course these states are responsible to protect the nations and
citizens, but that should not be at the expense of, I think,
civil rights. That's my observation. Thank you.
Mr. Cardin. Several of you mentioned hate crimes in your
presentations. And of course ODIHR is responsible to get
statistics on hate crimes among the OSCE states. So perhaps I
could start with--you have the largest agenda of any of the
three Personal Representatives. How satisfied are you of the
information that is currently available by collection by ODIHR?
And then perhaps I'll allow you some rebuttal time. Yes? Or
maybe it's not rebuttal; maybe it's supportive time. Yes.
Mr. Avtonomov. So, I--even on mine, I think just also to
contribute to what my colleagues said, what is necessary
actually? It's not only just collection of data, but I think
it's not necessarily just only punishment of those
perpetrators--which is important, of course--but it is only
some kind of the struggle of post-action. I think what is very
important actually, it is just promoting tolerance and
understanding in the educational system.
In my opinion, it's not quite enough efforts in the OSCE
countries just to promote this mutual understanding of the
diversity and mutual understanding of different communities. So
separation of community is one of the ways just to promote
intolerance while cooperation among different communities.
Understanding their identities, their own identities, and
recognizing the identity of others are the most important just
to overcome for these problems and to promote tolerance, first
of all, because tolerance is--this is the best way to--the
cooperation. The first step is tolerance but the next is
cooperation and solidarity among different communities
without--with different identities, and maintaining these
different identities and diversities.
So thank you very much.
Mr. Cardin. Let me see first if Senator Boozman wants to
make a comment, because I know he's going to need to leave to
the floor soon because there's a vote on.
Mr. Boozman. Let me just ask one question.
Rabbi Baker, we understand from a report by Human Rights
First, coming out this week, that Russia has been courting the
anti-Semitism far right parties across Europe, and that eight
of the far-right parties that were elected to the European
Parliament in May are avowedly pro-Russian. At the same time
Moscow is accusing the nationalists in Ukraine of being anti-
Semites, and it is turning a blind eye to anti-Semitism in its
own youth organization, Nashi. Do you have any insight into how
Russia is using the anti-Semitism issue in Europe and to the
extent that Russia supports anti-Semitic European parties? And
how might the United States respond?
Mr. Baker. Well, of course, I realize there is a challenge
in responding to Russia on so many fronts these days, this is
hardly first among them. But it really was to a degree one of
the reasons that I made a visit to Ukraine in late April
because we saw there certain charges, accusations, and we saw a
number of violent anti-Semitic incidents, which, frankly, had
really been absent in Ukraine for some time. So part of the
difficulty was sorting through was clearly appeared to be, and
at least in these violent incidents, provocations that,
according to most sources and certainly virtually everyone in
the Jewish community in Ukraine, were probably traced to at
least pro-Russian elements in society. And clearly, the Russian
media reporting on events in Ukraine twisted many things out of
basic reality to suggest, again, a much higher degree of anti-
Semitism in the country and rhetorically painting the interim
leaders at the time as being Nazis and right extremists.
Here again I think there is an element in Ukrainian
society, a nationalist element, that has been anti-Semitic,
that has posed challenges, certainly to a correct view of
history and the Holocaust in Ukraine. But I think this has been
enormously exaggerated as well, as its reach for those
nationalist strongly anti-Semitic reasons, its reach in society
has been quite, quite limited. And so ironically, Jews in
Ukraine were expressing a high degree of optimism in the future
for the Jewish community provided that the larger challenge
with Russia would be resolved or settled. So I think there was
a lot in the arsenal coming from some of these pro-Russian
voices--again, related to, perhaps stemming from sources in
Moscow--that clearly exaggerated and exacerbated the
situation--at least vis-a-vis Ukraine; I don't have quite the
same intelligence when it comes to other countries.
Mr. Boozman. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Cardin. Thank you.
Ms. Junuzovic, would you just brief us as to the status and
how satisfied ODIHR is on the information you're receiving from
the member states on hate crimes?
AZRA JUNUZOVIC, DEPUTY CHIEF OF TOLERANCE AND NON-
DISCRIMINATION UNIT, ORGANIZATION FOR SECURITY AND COOPERATION
IN EUROPE
Ms. Junuzovic. Thank you very much. I would gladly do so.
I would like to add that we've been tasked to serve as a
collection point for the information on hate crimes in the OSCE
region, and we've seen that since 2008, when we started
publishing our reports, there has been an improvement in the
level of the awareness by the participating states, which on
one hand should be acknowledged and should be applauded, but at
the same time, what we are seeing that is being done throughout
the region, it's not enough. Very often the data that we
receive on hate crimes that are targeting Jews or Muslims are
very scarce. They are not very comprehensive. There is no clear
disaggregation of data, and very often it's not clear where
further actions need to be taken.
I should also add, when it comes to data collection, yes,
it's immensely important, but it's also immensely important
when it's put into context, that we need data to be able to
formulate adequate policies so that for example, when a tax on
Jewish places of worship or Muslim places of worship or
Christian places or worships and--when they take place, that
this data is used to protect the communities and individuals at
question.
So I think for us, data that we receive is certainly not
enough, and what we see as really important is that we continue
training police, prosecutors, criminal justice system, that
they are able to recognize and monitor hate crimes, and that
also we are able to train civil society so that they have the
capacity to also work together with the criminal justice system
on trying to address this issue adequately.
Thank you.
Mr. Cardin. Well, what I would offer to you is the help of
this Commission to further the--your work. We recognize some
countries are doing a great job; others are doing a mediocre
job. And I think it's important to share best practices. And I
would invite the help of our Commission and our embassy in
Vienna to do what we can to share what countries need to do on
police training and on compiling information so that the work
of our Personal Representatives can be more informed.
Ms. Junuzovic. Thank you very much for your support. And I
should also just use this opportunity to thank the U.S.
government for the ongoing support that we have received on
many different fronts, also with the financial contributions to
our work. And we will certainly will be relying on your
support.
Mr. Cardin. One of the greatest challenges here is how we
divide the right of freedom of speech, freedom of expression,
freedom of political participation with intolerance activities.
And that's particularly difficult for the United States because
we have the constitutional protections in our First Amendment
to guarantee those rights to all of our citizens. And I think
where the three of you can be most helpful to us is helping us
with guidance as to when you cross the line on your unalienable
rights to express your views and participate in the political
process and when you are involved in activities that need to be
condemned and spoken out against because of its anti-Semitic,
anti-Muslim, anti-tolerance issues. So any way you could help
us in that, I would certainly appreciate that.
I have just an additional comment to make, and if you want
to respond, Rabbi Baker, I'll give you a chance. And that is:
In Hungary, why would 48 percent of the Jewish people there
feel like they're unsafe? Is there--here we have a NATO ally, a
country that we thought was a--on a strong path towards the
principles of OSCE--48 percent, the largest in Europe. Largest
Jewish population, large Jewish population there. That's a huge
number of people that feel their government's not there to
protect their rights to be Jews.
Mr. Baker. Yeah, I think you're referring to the FRA survey
where 48 percent had suggested they considered emigrating
during these last several years. And as you say, it's the
largest Jewish community in Central Europe--100,000, 120,000 or
more--where there's been a genuine revival, really, of Jewish
life and activity.
I think it's a combination of two general pieces. First,
we've seen the rise of the Jobbik party, an extremist, far-
right, anti-Semitic party. So it's taken what was really a
vicious anti-Semitic, crude anti-Semitic rhetoric you might
have heard only on street corners and brought it right into the
halls of parliament. But you also have a government, a center-
right government, as it will describe itself, the Fidesz
government, which has both courted the votes of the Jobbik
party, so in political campaigns plays a certain--within limits
one has to say, but a certain nationalist card, and also has in
various often public ways suggested that there ought to be a
somewhat different historical narrative about the Holocaust,
which adds to the insecurity and uncertainty that Jews in
Hungary feel, as though even this history is no longer settled.
So there have been some provocative acts and statements.
And it leads, again, to a sort of message that says--and
Hungary, by the way, is a very homogenous society, so Jews and
Roma are perhaps identified as almost the only minority groups.
But the Jews in Hungary are very Hungarian-focused, assimilated
community, one that has done so with pride. So these efforts to
somehow push them outside the mainstream of Hungary--Hungarian
population, thought, culture--has I think been a main
contributor to the sense of anxiety that was reflected in this
survey.
Mr. Cardin. Yeah. Well, let me thank you for those
comments. And I thank all four of you for your participation
here.
It--for your convenience, we're going to adjourn the
hearing rather than keep it open during--via lengthy recess; it
would take at least 45 minutes. But I do have other questions
for you, and I assure you that through the Helsinki Commission,
we will be in touch to figure the best agenda to move forward.
I think Congressman Hoyer said it best that the Helsinki Final
Act is probably best known for its advancements of human
rights. And quite frankly, I think the work of the three
Representatives are critically important to that. I know that
Chair-In-Office is looking at ways to make the--this--your work
more efficient and effective, and I can assure that the U.S.
Helsinki Commission will weigh in very strongly to maintain a
focus on the agenda that the three of you represent. We
strongly support your mission. We strongly support the work
that you do. We want to give you more tools rather than less to
be able to accomplish your objectives. And with that, again, we
thank you very much for your work. We thank ODIHR for its
presence here. And the committee will stand adjourned.
A P P E N D I X
=======================================================================
Prepared Statements
----------
Prepared Statement of Hon. Benjamin L. Cardin, Chairman, Commission on
Security and Cooperation in Europe
In 2002, the continuing phenomenon of anti-Semitism--indeed, its
intensification--prompted me to work with other members of the Helsinki
Commission and the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly to push for the OSCE to
treat anti-Semitism and anti-Jewish violence as specific region-wide
phenomena, particularly in light of the Holocaust. As a result of these
efforts, in 2004 the OSCE convened a conference on anti-Semitism in
Berlin. That meeting was a pivotal event in the effort to combat acts
of extremism.
Most importantly, it produced a declaration that condemned acts
motivated by anti-Semitism and other bias-motivated hate crimes, led to
an OSCE commitment to monitor and collect hate crimes data, and paved
the way for the appointment of three Personal Representatives appointed
annually by the OSCE Chair-in-Office to focus on combating anti-
Semitism, discrimination against Muslims, racism, xenophobia and other
forms of religious intolerance, especially when that intolerance
manifests itself in acts of violence.
Unfortunately, the challenges before us have not abated in the past
decade. I am most profoundly alarmed by the increased instances of
violence targeting people who are Jewish, who are believed by their
attackers to be Jewish, synagogues, or other Jewish community
buildings. On Passover eve in April, three people were murdered in
Kansas outside of Jewish community centers. Three more people were
murdered at the end of May at the Jewish Museum in Brussels. These
attacks come when the pain and terror from the 2012 murder of four
adults and three children at a Jewish school in Toulouse is still so
profoundly felt. Last week, two synagogues in Paris were attacked.
These horrible incidents illustrate that the physical protection of
Jewish communities and their institutions is critical and more must be
done to prevent such atrocities.
I am also alarmed by the electoral successes of extremist parties
in a number of European countries--not only in the most recent European
Union Parliament elections, but in national and local elections as
well. Two countries in Europe, Hungary and Greece, have extremist
parties associated with street militia. All of Greece's Golden Dawn MPs
are now facing a variety of criminal charges, from attacks on
immigrants to one case of alleged murder. The racist remarks of a
Polish MEP in the European Parliament last week illustrate continuing
prejudice towards people of African descent in the region.
Most dangerously, extremism has also bled into the ``mainstream.''
Years of anti-Roma rhetoric crudely stereotyping Roma as criminals,
sometimes voiced by officials at the highest levels of government, has
fueled an escalation of vigilante attacks and other repressive measures
against Roma.
While acts of violence may be our greatest concern, they are not
our only concern. We should pay particular attention to the patterns of
intolerance that contribute to a climate in which violence may
ultimately flourish. Measures to restrict the production of halal and
kosher food, to ban male circumcision, to restrict religious head
coverings or other symbols of faith or even architectural features such
as minarets--are discriminatory. But more than that, I believe that the
political discourse that has accompanied the debates over these
measures has actually contributed to intolerance and bigotry.
Clearly, 10 years after the adoption of the 2004 Berlin Declaration
and a decade into the OSCE's work on these specific issues, a great
deal remains to be done. I hope the OSCE participating States meet this
fall to review, re-examine, and re-commit to efforts to combat anti-
Semitism and other forms of bigotry. The escalation of violent acts
clearly demonstrates that more concrete action is needed.
Finally, I want to thank the Swiss Chair-in-Office for supporting
the work of the three Personal Representatives and committing early in
this year to facilitating this hearing.
Prepared Statement of Hon. Christopher Smith, Co-Chairman, Commission
on Security and Cooperation in Europe
More than a decade ago, I and my colleagues on the Helsinki
Commission began efforts to address intolerance in the OSCE region. In
2002, I chaired a Commission hearing on anti-Semitism to address a
spate of violent attacks on the Jewish community in France and
elsewhere in the OSCE region.
Following that hearing, I and fellow Commissioners joined other
OSCE parliamentarians to begin a concerted effort to press for an OSCE
solution. Our efforts resulted in the OSCE's appointment of the three
Personal Representatives who are here today, the establishment of a
Tolerance Unit at ODIHR in 2004, and the convening of regular
conferences over the following years monitoring efforts to combat anti-
Semitism and other forms of intolerance in the region.
The first of these conferences was the seminal Berlin Conference
which for the first time recognized and set agreed upon standards by
which OSCE participating States should combat anti-Semitism. These OSCE
efforts were further complemented by legislation I advanced here in the
United States creating a Special Envoy to Monitor and Address Anti-
Semitism around the world within our State Department.
Though this year marks the tenth anniversary of the Berlin
Conference, the recent murders in my own country, Belgium, and France
targeting the Jewish community sadly attest to the continued presence
of anti-Semitism in the region. Additionally, reports from the
Department of State's Special Envoy at subsequent hearings I have held
in the House Foreign Affairs Committee indicate that attacks on
synagogues, Jewish cultural sites, and cemeteries are a global
phenomenon with no signs of abating. Similarly, in my role as a member
of the Interparliamentary Coalition for Combating Anti-Semitism's
Steering Committee, I have identified the continuance of anti-Semitic
rhetoric by elected officials as a catalyst for intolerance in the
region.
Beyond commemorating the tenth anniversary of the Berlin
Conference, there must be a concerted effort by OSCE participating
States to strengthen efforts to combat anti-Semitism.
In addition, these efforts must be paired with other OSCE work.
Roma continue to be subjected to profound prejudice that, as Pope
Francis recently observed, leaves Roma especially vulnerable to abuse,
including new forms of slavery. Last fall fourteen men attacked and
attempted to throw an Afro-Swedish father, walking with his 18 month
old son over a bridge in Malmo, Sweden. Attacks on Muslim women in the
United Kingdom have skyrocketed. Intolerance against Christians remains
a grave problem. Although the most deadly forms of anti-Christian acts
have occurred outside the OSCE region, anti-Christian views also find
expression within the OSCE participating States.
I look forward to your testimony today to determine not only
continuing challenges in your respective mandates, but also given the
OSCE's decade long fight, how best to address the problem moving
forward. I welcome your review and thoughts on the matter.
Prepared Statement of Hon. Alcee Hastings, Commissioner, Commission on
Security and Cooperation in Europe
``frankly it is to protect the industry of the north from the
competition of the cheap labor from the south and four million human
lost jobs. Well it was four million n-word, but now we have twenty
million Europeans who are the negros of Europe, twenty million young
people are negros from Europe. We are treated like negros and we must
destroy the minimum wage''
--quote by MEPJanusz Korwin-Mikke, July 18 European Parliament
debate on the minimum wage
This quote is from a public debate that took place last Wednesday
in the European Parliament and a shameful example of the continuing
prejudice in the OSCE region that makes today's hearing so necessary.
Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to welcome the Personal Representatives
here today to not only discuss their work in Europe, but also the
numerous issues impacting minority communities in our own country that
they will be addressing during their official visit to the United
States.
It is timely that your visit to assess tolerance and discrimination
in the United States is taking place this month on the 50th anniversary
of the Civil Rights Act. A historic piece of legislation, the Civil
Rights Act was signed into law July 2, 1964 by then President Lyndon B.
Johnson to outlaw major forms of discrimination on the basis of race,
ethnicity, gender, national origin and religion in areas ranging from
voting to employment and education. Despite many advances, our country
is still far from realizing the goals of that legislation.
Our Supreme Court recently reversed laws that have long protected
minority voting. African-American, Latino, and Native Americans
continue to experience disproportionately high unemployment,
incarceration, and poverty rates. Moreover, according to the most
recent government reports, African-Americans and migrants make up the
bulk of hate crimes victims in this country. Images of a wave of
children trying to cross the U.S. southern border--under the most
desperate and dangerous circumstances--have been exploited to fuel
already high levels of anti-migrant prejudice in some circles in this
country. These are all issues that will be rightly reviewed by the
United Nations Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination (CERD) this August when our country comes before the
Committee.
The racial profiling of minorities, migrants, and Muslims in cities
and at borders continues. Muslims, Sikhs, Jews and others continue to
be targets of violence and hate as displayed by the tragic murders at
Jewish centers in Kansas earlier this year--a testament to the need for
participating States to adopt a set of concrete measurable actions to
combat anti-Semitism during this year's commemoration of the tenth
anniversary of the landmark Berlin Conference. As one of the original
members of this Commission to call for the OSCE to address the problem
of anti-Semitism in the region, I cannot underscore enough the need to
move beyond words to action to address the problem.
Increased physical attacks on Muslim women in concert with the
European Human Rights Court's decision to uphold France's ban on face
veils a measure directed against Muslim women--and efforts in several
countries to adopt laws that would hamper the production of kosher and
halal foods, have challenged the notion of welcoming cities for members
of minority religions in several OSCE states.
Last year our Commission hosted events with both Romani and Black
(African Descent) leaders from Europe who similarly requested
assistance to address the unabated violence and continuing
discrimination impacting their communities. A review of the OSCE's 2003
Roma Action Plan revealed that despite the passage of a decade, the
situation of Europe's 15 million Roma had not drastically improved.
Testimonies we heard last year from Black European leaders during the
tenth anniversary of the OSCE's first racism conferences revealed
similar findings. The ODIHR's Annual Hate Crimes Report and the EU
Fundamental Rights Agencies findings that Roma and people of African
descent are the greatest victims of violent hate crimes underscores the
negative experiences of these communities.
The shameful use of anti-Black racist remarks during last week's
parliamentary debate by the far-right Polish MEP underscores the need
for more efforts in the OSCE region to combat racism generally and
specific initiatives for people of African descent.
I reiterate earlier calls for a US-led international anti-racism
fund that could address issues of violence and discrimination faced by
minorities and migrants and, for a global State Department office that
focuses on issues of people of African descent to complement ongoing
tailored State Department human rights efforts for women, religious
freedom, anti-Semitism, Muslims, youth, the LGBT community, and the
disabled. As the world begins preparations for the International Decade
for People of African Descent beginning in 2015, it is imperative that
specific initiatives be tailored to address anti-Black racism in my
country and abroad in addition to generally strengthening global
efforts to fight racial discrimination.
Additionally, the OSCE needs to adopt a proactive strategy to
promote diversity and inclusive policies and practices in the region to
meet 21st century demographic changes that are leading the entire
region to be more racially, ethnically, religiously, and otherwise
diverse. The OSCE could and should assist in the development of
inclusive political leadership and counter recent election gains by
political parties on prejudiced platforms.
I look forward to reading a final report of your country visit to
the United States and follow up conversations to discuss how we might
join efforts to combat discrimination in this country and throughout
the OSCE region.
Thank you.
Prepared Statement of Hon. Steny Hoyer, Member of Congress From the
State of Maryland
Thank you, members of the Commission, for this opportunity to make
a statement. I want to thank the Commission for conducting this
critical hearing as well as to extend my gratitude to the three
witnesses, each of whom serves a critical function in advancing the
OSCE's mission of protecting freedom and democracy.
Nowhere is that mission more visible today than in Ukraine, where
OSCE personnel have helped oversee elections, monitor the border, and
report on key security developments. OSCE is on the frontlines of the
somber work of collecting bodies from the wreckage of Malaysian Flight
17 and securing the crash site.
OSCE also continues to be focused on the scourge of racism and
discrimination. In the Helsinki Final Act, signed in 1975, the
participating states made this declaration: `The participating states
will respect human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the
freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief, for all without
distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion. . . . [They]
recognize the universal significance of human rights and fundamental
freedoms, respect for which is an essential factor in the peace,
justice, and well-being necessary to ensure the development of friendly
relations and cooperation among themselves as among all states.'
Your work as personal representatives to the OSCE on these issues
is integral to the organization's overall effort. Never has your work
been more important.
Anti-Semitism and other forms of racism and xenophobia have been on
the rise in recent years in the OSCE region, and in recent days we have
seen disturbing protests in France and elsewhere that have included
anti-Semitic attacks. I sent a letter last week to the president of the
Abravanel Synagogue in Paris expressing solidarity with his
congregation in light of an incident on July 13, in which a mob
protesting Israel's defensive actions against Hamas besieged the
synagogue and began throwing stones and other objects at the building
and its security guards. At the same time, we hear too frequently of
anti-Semitic and other racist chants at sporting events across the
continent as well as entertainers who make comments disparaging the
Holocaust and celebrating Nazism.
We've seen what these forces can do, and we must never forget the
tragedies of the twentieth century that took so many innocent lives.
Russia's proxy war to `defend minorities'--as they call it--in
Ukraine is particularly offensive in light of this history. It cuts at
the very order the OSCE and its supporters protect. The first and
second world wars were instigated, in part, as a result of the pretext
of `protecting' ethnic minorities abroad. Russia is now using that same
argument to tear at the very heart of the international order for peace
and stability that was established over the last century at the cost of
many American and allied lives--and we cannot let that happen.
``That's why today's hearing is so critically important. I thank
the Commission for continuing to make these issues a priority and for
making a strong stand against these forms of hatred that threaten to
undermine our freedom.
Prepared Statement of Rabbi Andrew Baker
At the outset I want to express my appreciation for the role that
you, Senator Cardin and Representative Smith, have played in particular
and the Helsinki Commission more generally. My memory and experience go
back long enough to know firsthand that so much of the OSCE and ODIHR
work on fighting anti-Semitism and combating intolerance more
generally--activities that include the first international conferences,
important declarations, monitoring and police training programs,
educational initiatives, and even my own current position and that of
my two colleagues--can really be traced back to the hearings and
resolutions and advocacy efforts that you initiated here. So it is a
special pleasure and privilege for me to be present this morning.
The ongoing conflict in Gaza has sparked anti-Israel demonstrations
in many places, with notably large numbers of angry protesters in
several European capitals. Many are carrying placards and spewing
rhetoric that is clearly anti-Semitic. A week ago in Paris crowds
shouted ``Death to the Jews,'' and laid siege to a synagogue with two
hundred worshipers inside, leading the Interior Minister to ban further
demonstrations. But unauthorized demonstrations in France, Germany and
elsewhere still continue.
Ten years ago the participating States of the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) meeting in Berlin adopted the
Berlin Declaration, which stated in part that, ``[We] declare
unambiguously that international developments or political issues,
including those in Israel or elsewhere in the Middle East never justify
anti-Semitism.''
Events taking place today in the OSCE region show how important it
is to remember those words. They are a stern rebuke to those who would
seek to excuse the anti-Semitism or rationalize it. And they are a
clear call to political leaders to speak loudly and act quickly to
condemn the anti-Semitic attacks and ensure that all available legal
measures are taken to prevent further outbreaks.
I would have hoped that as we are already halfway through our
current mandate I could report to you on the findings of our OSCE
country visits, which is a major component of our work. Unfortunately,
we have so far not undertaken a single, joint visit until this one to
the United States. A second visit has now been scheduled for Denmark in
September. Other countries have been identified, and I know that the
Swiss Chairmanship is hopeful that we might also pay visits to Russia
and Turkey. But so far nothing more has been fixed. The Swiss have
facilitated discussions with the UN in Geneva and the Council of Europe
in Strasbourg in the belief that we might learn from their experience
and take advantage of the information they have gathered. This may
prove to be true, but it will only be truly demonstrated via our own
country visits.
I should point out that I did make a special visit to Ukraine on my
own in late April, as a way of responding to the extraordinary
situation at the time and the heightened attention that contesting
parties were giving to charges of anti-Semitism. That report has been
completed and issued and is appended to this testimony. I should note
that one of the special challenges was to separate anti-Semitic
incidents that were determined to be provocations by outside actors
from what might otherwise be attributed to local elements. My visit
occurred at volatile time. (An OSCE military monitoring mission was
being held hostage in eastern Ukraine.) And I am grateful for the
assistance provided to me by the Swiss Chairmanship that made the visit
possible.
Of course there have been other important and troubling
developments with regard to anti-Semitism in the OSCE region which I
would like to address.
The murder of four people at the Jewish Museum of Brussels in June
apparently carried out by a self-radicalized Islamist extremist
reminded us of the special security needs confronting Jewish
communities in Europe. In many ways it was similar to the murder of
three young children and a father that was carried out in Toulouse,
France in 2012. I had the opportunity to address issues of security
with authorities in both Belgium and France during country visits
undertaken last year. While I believe they are aware of the dangers
confronting Jewish communities--although the new challenges posed by
radicalized Jihadists returning from Syria are only beginning to sink
in--they and most other OSCE participating States have not really
adjusted to this new reality. This issue was taken up at length in June
2013 in Berlin at a high level expert conference, Addressing the
Security Needs of Jewish Communities in the OSCE Region: Challenges and
Good Practices. A summary report of the conference is appended to this
testimony. (http://www.osce.org/odihr/105253?download=true) Although
not binding, the participants offered a number of important
recommendations to participating States which are only more relevant in
light of recent developments.
Members of this Commission will recall that ten years ago this year
the OSCE organized a high level conference on anti-Semitism which was
hosted by the German Government in Berlin and also issued the important
Berlin Declaration. I know you were interested in marking this
important anniversary and using it as an opportunity to reexamine the
problem and to secure renewed commitments by governments. I am pleased
to report that under the current Swiss Chairmanship a high level event
has now been scheduled for November 12-14, and it will again be hosted
by the German Government in Berlin. Both Swiss Foreign Minister (and
OSCE Chairperson-in-Office) Didier Burkhalter and German Foreign
Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier will be present, and we hope that
other participating States--including the US--will also attend at a
similarly high level. The Berlin gathering will also include an
expanded NGO forum with special attention given to student
participation.
Among the issues scheduled to be discussed in Berlin are the
security challenges facing Jewish communities, responding to hate on
the Internet, the role of political leadership in the fight against
anti-Semitism, the impact of growing opposition to ritual circumcision
and kosher slaughter, and (with particular relevance to the current
situation) the impact of the Middle East conflict on European Jewish
communities.
I welcome the opportunity to discuss any of these issues with
Members of the Helsinki Commission.
country visit: ukraine,
report of the personal representative of the osce chair-in-office on
combating anti-semitism,
rabbi andrew baker,
april 27-30, 2014
Although organized on short notice, I met with a wide range of
Jewish leaders and representatives in Ukraine, including rabbis,
organizational directors, researchers and student activists. They are
not of a single opinion but surprisingly there was a general agreement
on several broad issues. Not all of them were active participants in
the Maidan demonstrations, but all do view the ensuing developments,
including the ouster of the Yanukovych regime and the new government
quite positively. Notwithstanding the situation in Crimea and in the
east of Ukraine and the uncertain geopolitical developments, they are
largely optimistic that given the opportunity Ukraine may now be ready
to forge a genuinely pluralistic society.
Provocations and Propaganda
In the last decade there have been relatively few reported
incidents of anti-Semitic violence. Thus, the fact that four such
incidents have occurred since January this year has been a cause for
concern. These included two knife attacks on individual Jews leaving
synagogue services in January and an arson attack and anti-Semitic
graffiti on two synagogues. Additionally, on April 15, Donetsk Jews
were presented with leaflets containing what looked like an edict
demanding that they register before the new, self-appointed regional
authorities or face the confiscation of their property. Because of
their rarity and occurring at a time of political upheaval these
incidents received significant international attention. Russian media
in particular claimed that the January attacks were a result of the
presence of ultra-nationalists who had come to Kyiv to participate in
the Maidan demonstrations.
However, by all accounts of Jewish leaders each of these incidents
is believed to have been a provocation, either launched by the previous
Yanukovych government or by pro-Russian nationalists. To date no one
has been apprehended and charged in these attacks, although government
officials are taking investigative measures and believe they will be
successful in doing so. Meanwhile, Jewish community leaders insist that
there is no credible evidence to tie these incidents to either the
right wing Svoboda Party or ultra-nationalist Right Sector, despite the
accusations from abroad.
These Ukrainian Jewish leaders also shared their irritation at the
public comments being made by some Jewish voices in Russia, which
described a far more precarious state of affairs for the Jews of
Ukraine than the reality on the ground would indicate. They suggested
that such comments were the result of coercion on the part of the
Russian government or simply that some of them have had long-time,
close relations with the Kremlin. Many Ukrainian Jewish leaders signed
an open letter to Russian Federation President Putin charging him with
misrepresenting the problem of anti-Semitism in Ukraine. A few of these
leaders reported that they were now being pressured to rescind their
signatures.
This problem has not been confined to misreporting or exaggerating
the degree of anti-Semitism. They also report a campaign in the Russian
media that has intentionally twisted the truth and offered entirely new
fabrications. For example, television stories portrayed Jews in Crimea
in the aftermath of its annexation by Russia celebrating the Passover
holiday, with the message that only now could they do so freely.
Although the vast majority of Crimean Jews supported the Russian
takeover, they had long been free to practice their religion without
any difficulty. Russian media carried select accounts of rabbis voicing
fear and concern, but presented them in entirely false ways. Thus, the
Rabbi of Simferopol who had publicly opposed annexation and as a result
was fearful of remaining fled the Crimean peninsula. Russian television
reported his departure but described it as occurring because of
Ukrainian anti-Semitism. The Rabbi of the Choral Synagogue in Kyiv
warned his congregants at the height of the violence in the Maidan
demonstrations to stay away from the city center. His warnings were
repeated in news accounts and elsewhere, but presented as though he
were calling for Jews to leave Kyiv or even the country entirely.
Danger from Right Wing Parties
There continue to be anti-Semitic incidents in Ukraine that cannot
be blamed on outside elements. Researchers from the Euro-Asian Jewish
Congress (EAJC) monitor these (largely non-violent) incidents of anti-
Semitism in Ukraine and publish regular reports. Anti-Semitic and
xenophobic attitudes are also present in Ukrainian society. But how
significant a problem this is and to what degree it poses a genuine
threat are subject to some debate within the Jewish community. The
nationalist, Svoboda Party is most frequently cited as a source for
political, anti-Semitic rhetoric. Its leaders frequently use a
derogatory term for Jew--much like ``kike'' in English--in their public
speeches. They were also responsible for presenting an anti-Semitic
nativity play during the December demonstrations at the Maidan. The
party's stronghold in Western Ukraine and its veneration of Stepan
Bandera, a World War II nationalist who was allied with the Nazis, have
been the source of some tension with the Jewish community.
Svoboda emerged during the demonstrations as one of the three
opposition parties to eventually forge the government. Some Jewish
leaders believe the Maidan events genuinely served to moderate
Svoboda's nationalist and anti-Semitic ideology, and they maintain that
a real change in the party's thinking has occurred. Others are more
skeptical, suggesting that they were only being careful in their public
statements because of the intense international scrutiny. One observer
maintained that for now the party had the only enemy it really needed--
Russia--but if and when things change, it will again find Jews to be
the ready scapegoat. There were still others who maintained that this
debate missed a larger reality. They cited opinion surveys showing a
significant decline in the party's popularity, suggesting that it might
not even secure enough votes to remain in Parliament. According to
these analysts, the party's support was never due to its nationalist--
and anti-Semitic--agenda, but instead it received the votes of those
who wanted to protest against the Yanukovych government, and now this
is no longer a basis for support.
The Right Sector is a collection of extremist and neo-Nazi groups
that gained prominence at the Maidan when its militants confronted the
violence of the state authorities. The current government shuns them,
and the Jewish community has little contact with them. However, the
Right Sector leaders have also been careful in their public actions.
They initiated a meeting with the Israeli Ambassador to assure him that
they would refrain from making any anti-Semitic appeals. Right Sector
members were among the first to respond to the appearance of anti-
Semitic graffiti on a Holocaust memorial in Odessa with a well-
publicized clean-up campaign. Most Jewish leaders believe these are
only temporary tactics and do not really expect Right Sector members to
temper their extremist views. But at this point their numbers appear to
be too small to have any impact on the coming elections.
Longer-term concerns
Both Jewish organizations and other NGOs say that most anti-Semitic
incidents and hate crimes more generally likely go unreported in
Ukraine. This is due to a general lack of trust in the police, a record
of corruption, and police officers' inability in knowing how to
identify and how to respond to such incidents. In the aftermath of the
Maidan demonstrations and February crack down by the previous regime on
the demonstrators, overall trust in the police reached a new low. The
new authorities have a significant challenge in restoring trust and
developing the necessary competence.
Physical Security
Until recently violent, anti-Semitic incidents had been quite rare.
As a result, little attention had been given to increasing the physical
security of synagogues and other Jewish institutions. However, the
attacks of this year have changed the thinking of community leaders.
Whether they stem from outside provocateurs (as most believe) or from
local Ukrainian sources, they have created a new level of concern. As a
stopgap measure and with the support of private donations, Jewish
communities are installing security cameras and hiring their own
security guards. So far this has been limited to major cities, such as
Kyiv, Odessa, and Dnepropetrovsk, but such protection is still lacking
in many smaller communities. How active and responsible police
authorities will be in the event of an attack is uncertain. (The Reform
Rabbi of Kyiv does say that an alarm at the community's new synagogue
and meeting space is connected directly to the police and will bring a
response in three minutes.) Clearly, a comprehensive review of both the
immediate and long-term security needs of Jewish community institutions
is in order.
Changing Attitudes of Ukrainians and Ukrainian Jews
For some of the young, Jewish students who volunteered their time
to participate in the Maidan demonstrations, it was their first
experience of revolutionary change. For some older members of the
community who remember both 1989 and 2004, it was a third occasion. And
yet both groups seem to share a sense of guarded optimism and a belief
that this time Ukraine could ``get it right.'' They see in their own
participation and the acceptance with which it was greeted evidence
that the new leaders of Ukraine--and Ukraine society more generally--is
ready to accept the model of a diverse and pluralist Ukraine, one where
minorities are fully valued and integrated. They experienced few if any
anti-Semitic encounters; far more frequently they were welcomed and
embraced. Several made special note of the success of the recently
appointed governor of the Dnepropetrovsk Region, Ihor Kolomoysky, whose
Jewishness is well-known. Kolomoysky's success and use of his own funds
to equip the region's military and police have made him a hero
especially among nationalists in Western Ukraine. He has proven that it
is possible to be both Jewish and a Ukrainian patriot.
Jewish representatives have also noted that the leaders of the new
government are outspoken in their condemnation of anti-Semitism. They
have reacted quickly and strongly, in contrast to previous governments.
They also report that a number of younger municipal leaders, such as
the mayors of Lviv and Rava Ruska, have promoted an inclusive, non-
nationalist agenda. Despite Svoboda's local political strength, it was
prohibited from participating in the Lviv Maidan demonstrations. Both
mayors also announced special, Russian-speaking days to promote the
bilingual nature of the country.
Confronting the Holocaust in Ukraine
Jewish scholars in Ukraine have described exchanges in the past
with their non-Jewish colleagues where the Holocaust is referred to as
``your history'' while Ukrainians point, for example, to the Holodomor
(Great Famine) as ``ours.'' This too may be changing in the aftermath
of the Maidan demonstrations, where one Holocaust scholar believes that
there may now be a new willingness to accept all of this as Ukrainian
history, open to study and even critical analysis. Over one and one-
half million Ukrainian Jews were murdered in the Holocaust, most of
whom lie buried in mass graves that are frequently unmarked and
unprotected. The development of teaching materials on the Holocaust and
the training of teachers are in their early stages. The International
Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), an intergovernmental body of 31
countries, has so far been unsuccessful in convincing Ukraine to join
the alliance, but there is some hope that now this too may change.
Ukrainian Government Activity
My visit to Kyiv came at a time of increasing crisis, with the
government confronting pro-Russian militants in several eastern cities
and intense negotiations to secure the release of OSCE military
monitors who had been taken hostage. In such a climate it was not
always easy to focus on long-term strategies to address the problems of
anti-Semitism. But I am grateful to Ukrainian authorities for arranging
appropriate, high level meetings covering the full range of my mandate.
(A list of the officials with whom I met can be found in the appendix
to this report.)
State Security Service
A special unit on anti-Semitism and xenophobia has been established
in the Security Service of Ukraine and tasked with the focus of
preventing hate crimes. Its officials have already initiated meetings
with civil society representatives and with the Israeli ambassador and
other diplomats and are is open to international cooperation, advice
and assistance. A telephone hot line and an Internet link exist in the
Security Service of Ukraine to facilitate individual reporting of
incidents, including hate crimes.
Officials spoke candidly about the challenges they face in
reforming law enforcement bodies, noting that they are hampered by the
corruption that was common during the previous regime.
The Chairman of the Security Service reported that they had
successfully identified the source of anti-Semitic flyers that were
distributed to Jews in Donetsk, which they trace to a high official of
the former Yanukovych government now living in Russia. It is not clear
when this evidence will be made public.
Ministry of Education and Science
Government policy provides support for the education of national
minorities in their own languages. Recognizing that Hebrew is the
traditional language of the Jewish people, Ukrainian schools offer some
classes in Hebrew to 3,200 students, while 411 students are studying
Hebrew as a second language.
Several years ago teaching materials designed to combat anti-
Semitism were developed by ODIHR and the Anne Frank House in
cooperation with Ukrainian civil society partners, and these materials
are being used in most of the country's regions. There are additional
programs that focus on Holocaust education, undertaken with the support
of the governments of Switzerland and Norway and in cooperation with
Holocaust education centers in Kyiv and Dnepropetrovsk. The Ministry
also works with the VAAD of Ukraine in organizing visits for students
to Jewish memorial sites. Ministry officials spoke about the shortage
of qualified Hebrew teachers and the need for more training to assist
teachers who are covering Jewish subjects.
Foreign Ministry and Ministry of Justice
New laws have been drafted and introduced as amendments to the
legal code that focus on preventing discrimination. They are designed
to bring Ukrainian law into alignment with European standards and will
broaden the definition of discrimination and also convey additional
authority to the Ombudsman Office in this area. Both Ministries
anticipated that this legislation would be adopted by the Parliament in
the near future.
The Ministry of Justice retains the authority to initiate in court
the banning political parties which are determined to be extremist and
anti-constitutional in nature or which violate other provisions of the
Constitution, the Law on Political Parties, or other laws of Ukraine.
Two such parties--Russian Block and Russian Unity--were banned by court
decision, and the Ministry of Justice is prepared to initiate the same
proceedings with regard to similar parties in all regions of the
country.
There are intentions to hold a national plebiscite on June 15,
which will address issues such as the unity of Ukraine, regional
authority, and decentralization.
Ministry of Culture
The Minister of Culture expressed the view that the Jewish
community has been an important contributor to the development of
Ukrainian culture and underscored the importance of acknowledging the
shared history and experience of Ukrainians and Jews.
He spoke of plans to appoint a special envoy responsible for
national diversity as well as reestablishing the consultative committee
on the rights of national minorities. This committee had been housed
within the Cultural Ministry, but there is some discussion now about
having it report to the Cabinet of Ministers, as the issues it will
address cover several Ministries.
The Minister also indicated the willingness of the Ministry of
Culture to study the possibility of engaging with the International
Holocaust Remembrance Alliance as an observer or eventual member and
said he would coordinate this with the Foreign Ministry.
Ministry of Internal Affairs
Under current practice this Ministry--responsible for policing and
pre-trial investigations--does not identify citizens by ethnicity,
which would appear to hamper the ability to address hate crimes in
general and anti-Semitic crimes in particular. They do take note of
attacks on foreigners, and three cases this year (from over 300)
involved attacks on ``citizens of Israel.''
Authorities offered assurances that the recent, violent incidents
of anti-Semitism are being investigated and the perpetrators will be
successfully identified and prosecuted. However, no information was
provided on who these suspects are or when any public announcement is
likely to be made. In light of the international attention that these
cases have received, I urged the Ukrainian government to make public
the evidence it has as soon as it has been verified.
In 2012, the Ministry of Internal Affairs signed a memorandum of
understanding with ODIHR to launch the implementation of the Training
Against Hate Crime for Law Enforcement (TAHCLE) to provide police
training on dealing with hate crimes. In light of the multiple
challenges that have been voiced during this visit--the previous
corruption in the police force, the reluctance of citizens to report
hate crimes, and the limited skills and experience the police now have
in responding to hate crimes--there should be strong interest in
engaging with ODIHR to implement this training. Officials spoke of
resuming this cooperation when the overall situation in the country
improves.
osce commitments
Since the OSCE held the first conferences on anti-Semitism in 2003
and 2004, participating States assumed responsibility for addressing
this problem, as provided for in subsequent Ministerial Council
Meetings (MC Decisions No. 12/2004, No. 10/2005, No. 13/2006, No. 10/
2007, No. 9/2009, and No. 3/2013). In particular, they pledged to enact
a comprehensive set of measures to respond to violent manifestations of
anti-Semitism as well as committing themselves to implement educational
activities to raise awareness about anti-Semitism and promote
remembrance of the Holocaust. The commitment to address and respond to
anti-Semitism and other biases has been part of the OSCE's work in the
human dimension of security. It is further reflected in the
declarations issued at OSCE High Level Conferences in Berlin (2004),
Cordoba (2005), Bucharest (2007) and Astana (2010). The full texts of
these MC decisions and OSCE declarations, along with relevant
declarations of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly can be found here:
http://tandis.odihr.pl/?p=ki-as,dec-sect
recommendations
The Government of Ukraine in particular and the unit on
anti-Semitism and xenophobia in the Security Service of Ukraine should
avail themselves of the assistance of ODIHR and the Personal
Representative in evaluating the security needs of Jewish community
institutions and other relevant recommendations that were presented at
the June 2013 OSCE Expert Meeting, ADDRESSING THE SECURITY NEEDS OF
JEWISH COMMUNITIES IN THE OSCE REGION: CHALLENGES AND GOOD PRACTICES.
(http://www.osce.org/odihr/105253)
The Ministry of Internal Affairs should renew its
cooperation with ODIHR in the implementation of police training to
address hate crimes, as provided for in the 2012 Memorandum of
Understanding, and should avail itself of ODIHR assistance in data
collection on hate crimes.
ODIHR is also prepared to provide hate crime training for
new staff members of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Security
Service of Ukraine who will be dealing with hate crime and anti-
Semitism.
The Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Foreign Affairs
should engage with the current chair (United Kingdom) of the
International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance to secure observer status
and eventual membership in IHRA. ODIHR in cooperation with IHRA would
be prepared to help organize a meeting in Ukraine to take stock of
existing initiatives and explore avenues for multilateral cooperation
in the area of Holocaust education and research.
The Ministry of Education and Science should extend the
use of ODIHR teaching materials on anti-Semitism to encompass all the
regions of Ukraine and ensure that sufficient training is provided for
the needed number of teachers.
Government officials should continue to speak out strongly
and swiftly in response to incidents of anti-Semitism and other
manifestations of intolerance.
Government authorities are encouraged to complete and make
public the findings of investigations into the violent anti-Semitic
attacks that occurred earlier this year.
Prepared Statement of Alexey Avtonomov
AL in police responses and a lack of capacity of NGOs to monitor
and report on the phenomenon contribute to the problem of under-
reporting. Only Czech Republic, Poland, Serbia and Sweden provided
information on hate crimes targeting Roma and Sinti. Information from
eight NGOs provided information on anti-Roma incidents in 12
participating States is also presented below.
Information provided to ODIHR highlights some major concerns over
the past year such as the intolerant discourse where racist and
xenophobic rhetoric stigmatising migrants and Roma, foreigners and
migrants, and People of African Descent by portraying them as causes of
country's economic woes and as threats to society. Worryingly, many
victims do not report these incidents to law enforcement or the
authorities. Excessive force against or ill-treatment of Roma,
including, for example, in the course of evictions or during stop-and-
search actions by the police, can contribute to a lack of trust in the
authorities. This, combined with a lack of means and knowledge on the
part of Roma communities to monitor and report hate crimes means that
these are likely significantly under-reported. Additionally, during the
recent campaigns for the European Union Parliament elections in May
2014, public and political discourses focussed on ``immigration'' as a
political and social problem that needed to be addressed. This rhetoric
provided succour to far right political parties and interests as
evidenced by the subsequent successes of many of these parties in their
respective elections.
Whilst acknowledging the challenge for participating States to
ensure both freedom of expression and freedom of association, they must
also make sure that people and communities feel secure and safe.
Responses to these particular developments need to be robust,
expeditious and clear. Authorities and political leaders need to
abstain from using intolerant rhetoric and to firmly and unequivocally
condemn all instances of hate speech in public discourse. They should
also utilise the expertise of ODIHR to assist them in prevention and
responses to hate crimes, hate speech, discrimination and all forms of
xenophobia. The US Mission to the OSCE has provided significant support
to ODIHR in this regard. They have generously provided financial
support for a variety of PAD projects starting in 2011 with the
Roundtable for People of African Descent in Vienna, as well as
providing logistical and planning support (along with the US Helsinki
Commission) for the PAD study tour in November 2013. Ambassador Baer
met with the Civil Society representatives who were recipients of US
funding to discuss the implementation of their respective projects
combatting racism and xenophobia faced by PAD communities on the
occasion of the International Day Against Racism in March 2014.
hate on the internet
The OSCE have long recognized the danger of unfettered hate on the
internet and tasked ODIHR to be ``the link between the use of the
Internet and bias-motivated violence'' (MC Decision 9/09)--whilst
acknowledging the challenge for participating States to ensure the
freedom of expression, they also have a duty to promptly renounce
statements by public officials and ensure robust intervention whenever
comments expressed on the internet present a threat. For example, some
of the incidents such as neo-Fascist rallies in some Roma
neighbourhoods mentioned earlier, are organized and promoted online.
Monitoring of these activities by law enforcement and civil society
organizations is paramount in tackling this mendacious activity as well
as ensuring that authorities can fulfil their tasks of providing
security to all citizens and communities.
gender and discrimination
Through their experiences conducting focus groups with victims
ODIHR recognised that there was a need for a stronger gender
perspective in combatting racism and xenophobia in the OSCE region.
ODIHR subsequently conducted a workshop for women of African descent in
Warsaw in May, 2014. The two-day workshop covered many topics--
structural racism, access to healthcare, mental health, domestic
violence, lack of representation by African women (role models in
public and political spheres), female genital mutilation (FGM) and many
others. Many recommendations were presented specifically to OSCE. These
include:
1. ODIHR Training specifically for women of African descent
2. Multicultural training for education and health personnel and
officers
3. African women participation in local grassroots politics and
community representation--local governments, state authorities, law
enforcement, judiciary, etc.
anti-romani rhetoric, racially biased policy measures and violence
The OSCE/ODIHR Status Report 2013 on the implementation of the Roma
and Sinti Action plan notes negative trends in the proliferation of
anti-Romani rhetoric, hate-speech, violence and biased (racist) policy
measures in the OSCE region. The Status report covering the period
between 2008 and 2013 notes a disturbing number of hate crimes against
Roma, the use of extremist anti-Roma rhetoric, and continuing reports
of police ill-treatment. The downward trends are linked to migration of
Roma and Sinti who leave their homes seeking better employment
opportunities and economic conditions in other countries, the
scapegoating of Roma and Sinti in the context of economic difficulties
and the rise of far-right political parties in some participating
States which capitalize on anti-Roma sentiment among majority
communities. The report notes that these parties--and, in some
instances, mainstream parties as well--used anti-Roma rhetoric,
including the motif of ``Gypsy criminality'' for electoral gains.
Mainstream media also reflect negatively on Roma and Sinti leading to
further intolerance.
intolerance against christians
Bias against individuals on the basis of religion can take various
forms. The extent and nature of attacks motivated by bias against a
particular religion are influenced by a number of factors, including
the minority or majority status of that religion in a given territory.
Successive ODIHR hate crime reports have indicated that graffiti and
vandalism against places of worship, the desecration of cemeteries and
arson attacks against churches are some of the more common types of
crimes motivated by bias against Christians and members of other
religions
In 2012, 35 participating States stated that they collect data on
hate crimes motivated by anti-religious bias. Four participating States
further disaggregate this data into sub-categories, such as ``non-
denominational'', ``Catholic'', ``Protestant'', ``other religions'', or
``Jehovah's witnesses''. However, only seven countries provided
information on this category of hate crime in 2012. The Holy See
reported anti-Christian incidents in 12 participating States in 2012.
Prepared Statement of Professor Talip Kucukcan
In concert with ODIHR's annual report on hate crimes and ODIHR's
workshops for Muslim communities on hate crimes, concerns were
repeatedly raised that verbal assaults and threats against imams,
physical attacks on Muslim women wearing headscarves and desecration of
mosques and other Islamic sites are often not reported to the police,
because Muslims believe that their complaints will not be taken
seriously or that they will be victimized again. The latest annual
report from ODIHR notes that only four States reported hate crimes
against Muslims. These include Austria, Serbia, Sweden and the United
States, while NGOs reported hate-motivated incidents in 14 countries.
However reports from Muslim communities suggest there are a number of
unreported incidents throughout the region.
Intolerance against Muslims can also be seen in the numerous
instances of anti-Muslim rhetoric by politicians and public figures,
postings on the internet and other forms of social media. This nexus of
intolerance--hate on the internet (``Cyberhate) and intolerant
discourse--against Muslims is a burgeoning issue that participating
States need to address. Whilst acknowledging the challenge for
participating States to ensure the freedom of expression, they also
have a duty to promptly renounce hate speech(es) by public officials
and ensure robust intervention whenever comments expressed pose a
threat to Muslim individuals and communities. The hostile rhetoric
stigmatizing Muslims by portraying them as threats to social cohesion,
who undermine social and cultural values continues to be prevalent in
the OSCE region. Worryingly, despite being victims of hate crimes, many
victims do not report these incidents to law enforcement or the
authorities for a variety of reasons including a lack of trust in law
enforcement and other state agencies. Under-reporting of anti-Muslim
hate crimes and incidents is prominent and needs to be addressed by
authorities.
In order to explore how to build trust and increase reporting of
hate crimes by Muslim communities and enhance co-operation between law
enforcement and Muslim communities in combating anti-Muslim hate
crimes, ODIHR, together with the Swiss Chairmanship, held an expert
conference on this issue on 28 April.
The expert conference brought together approximately 90 NGO
representatives and government officials from 26 participating States.
Some recommendations included suggestions to create sustainable
consultation mechanisms between law-enforcement agencies and Muslim
organizations in order to exchange information and views on evidence-
based, comprehensive policies, strategies and programmes concerning the
security of Muslim communities; to encourage the creation of
alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, in particular the use of
mediators, in building trust between Muslim communities and law-
enforcement officers and ensuring the proper training of such people;
to support civil society initiatives that seek to monitor and report
anti-Muslim hate crimes, provide support for victims, raise awareness
of anti-Muslim prejudice, and improve co-operation between public
officials in the justice system and Muslim communities.
hate crime workshops for muslim community-based organizations and civil
society organizations dealing with intolerance against muslims
With the aim of enhancing the capacities of civil society to combat
hate crimes against Muslims, since 2011, ODIHR has delivered five
workshops for non-governmental and community-based organizations. The
objectives of these workshops were to provide insight on how to
recognize hate crimes; to discuss how civil society organizations can
monitor, report and respond to hate crimes against Muslims, based on
examples of good practices from across the OSCE region; to present and
inform participants about ODIHR's tools dealing with hate crimes and
intolerance against Muslims. All workshops were organized in
partnership with local non-governmental organizations which had close
contacts with community-based organizations. In total, 147 civil
society representatives and community leaders attended these workshops.
empowering muslim women
Taking into account that women wearing headscarves are one of the
most frequent victims of hate crimes, on 13 May 2014, in Warsaw, ODIHR
held a focus group meeting on Muslim women. The event brought together
17 Muslim women activists from 13 participating States. They discussed
prejudice against Muslim women, their experience of discrimination and
hate crime and the activities that Muslim women organizations can
conduct in order to raise awareness about gendered aspects of anti-
Muslim stereotypes and support gender sensitive tolerance activities.
They requested ODIHR's technical assistance and support for the
empowerment of Muslim women to report and respond to violent
manifestations of intolerance and discrimination against Muslim women.
guidelines for educators on countering intolerance and discrimination
against muslims: addressing islamophobia through education
ODIHR, in partnership with UNESCO and the Council of Europe,
published the ``Guidelines for Educators on Countering Intolerance and
Discrimination against Muslims'' in October 2011. The Guidelines focus
on the characteristics of intolerance and discrimination against
Muslims in the school context. They provide information on the key
methodological principles and approaches which must be taken into
account in addressing Islamophobia through education. They offer
practical strategies for educators on how to prevent and respond to the
manifestations of intolerance and discrimination against Muslims. This
includes, but not limited to, tackling difficult situations, in
particular, when a student or a teacher experience and witness an act
of intolerance and discrimination, developing codes of conduct,
promoting media literacy and adopting curriculum opt-out policies. The
Guidelines have been enriched with examples of good practices from
across the region, on-line resources and suggested reading materials.
In partnership with UNESCO and the Council of Europe, ODIHR
organized three regional meetings for educational authorities to
promote the use of the Guidelines on ``Countering Intolerance and
Discrimination against Muslims through Education for Societies in
Transition''; on ``Globalization, Diversity and Social Cohesion in
Educational Settings'' and the third on ``Challenging anti-Muslim
Prejudice and Promotion of Mutual Understanding in Multicultural
Societies through Education.'' The objectives of these roundtable
meetings were to:
1. Raise awareness of educators about the need for challenging
anti-Muslim prejudice and provide information on the most effective
pedagogical approaches identified in the Guidelines;
2. Share examples of good practices and lessons learnt in
educational efforts to counter anti-Muslim prejudice;
3. Collect recommendations from educators on how to implement the
Guidelines in national educational systems of participating States.
The outcome of these meetings was the increased visibility of the
Guidelines, which led to the publication of the op-eds in a number of
teacher newspapers and educational journals as well as promotion of the
Guidelines on the websites of the ministries of education and
educational centers. These promotion activities resulted in the
establishment of a large network of educators dealing with intolerance
against Muslims. Since the beginning of the project, ODIHR reached out
approximately to 200 representatives of educational authorities, expert
groups and activists dealing with this topic.
However, despite these activities conducted by ODIHR, it is
possible to still observe continuing cases of attacks targeting Muslims
and their property. Muslims are often portrayed as unable to integrate
and Islam as incompatible with contemporary values. Discussion on the
religious dress of Muslim women, ritual slaughter of animals or male
circumcision seems to contribute to a perception that there is no place
for Islam despite the fact that the OSCE region has been diverse and an
example of peaceful coexistence for centuries. It is therefore
necessary to continue our efforts and invest more to counter
intolerance against Muslims.
Prepared Statement of Azra Junuzovic
The Tolerance and Non-Discrimination Department focuses on
increasing the implementation of OSCE participating States commitments
to effectively prevent and respond to hate-motivated crimes and
incidents. The Department also works with civil society organizations
to build their capacity to recognize and monitor hate crimes.
Furthermore, the Department also assists States to promote mutual
respect and understanding, notably Holocaust remembrance.
hate crimes and combating intolerance and discrimination
Hate Crime--In line with its mandate, ODIHR has been collecting
information on hate motivated crimes and incidents and responses to
this phenomenon since 2008. ODIHR makes this information accessible on
its website www.hatecrime.osce.org, which was launched on 17 June.
ODIHR's website reveals substantial gaps in reported official data on
hate crime covering 2009-2013, underlining systematic under-reporting
and under-recording of this phenomenon across the region. At the same
time, reports by civil society, international organizations and the
media confirm that hate-motivated incidents are still a matter of
concern. In 2014, 28 participating States and 105 non-governmental
organizations from 40 participating States submitted information to
ODIHR. The website aims to further publicize information received from
participating States. Its aim is to reach out to new audience, garner
the interest of experts and civil society and attract attention to this
issue. Based on its findings, ODIHR provides a key observation for each
participating State. ODIHR is currently processing information for the
2013 edition of the report. In 2014, ODIHR will hold a training of
trainers for OSCE, UNHCR and IOM field operations and organize annual
meeting for National Points of Contact on Hate Crime from OSCE
participating States.
Combating Intolerance and Discrimination--In the spring, ODIHR
organized two focus groups to obtain more information about experiences
of discrimination and hate crimes by women of African Descent and
Muslim women. As a follow-up to these events, ODIHR is planning to
organize a train-the-trainer session for female civil society activists
to build their capacity to raise awareness and speak about the issue of
hate crime. Many activists noted the need to build effective
relationships between public authorities and affected communities. To
that end, ODIHR is piloting an activity in Austria. ODIHR is also
planning to organize a focus group to obtain more information about
experiences of racism. In April, ODIHR, in collaboration with the Swiss
Chairmanship, organized an expert conference on the security of Muslim
communities. This event followed on similar event organized under the
Ukrainian Chairmanship in 2013. The upcoming OSCE Chair has expressed
interest in organizing a similar conference on the security of
Christian communities in 2015, as attacks on religious property and
community centres remain a matter of concern. ODIHR organized two
training events in Moldova and Italy to build the capacity of civil
society organizations. ODIHR is also planning on organizing a training
workshop for civil society in Poland.
activities to improve government response
Data collection--In 2014 ODIHR will publish Hate Crime Data-
Collection and Monitoring Mechanisms: A Practical Guide. Through ten
practical steps, this publication gives suggestions to policy makers,
criminal justice officials and civil society on how to improve their
hate crime data collection mechanisms.
Legislation--ODIHR continues to distribute Hate Crime Laws: A
Practical Guide. Approximately 6,000 copies of the Guide have been
distributed so far. It is available in six languages. In the last two
years, despite ODIHR's efforts, no new requests have been received to
review legislation.
TAHCLE--Training against Hate Crime for Law Enforcement (TAHCLE)
builds on ODIHR's previous training programme named Law Enforcement
Officers Programme (LEOP), which was implemented in Croatia and Poland.
It is a short, compact and flexible training designed to be integrated
with other training efforts, drawing on existing resources and
curricula of police training institutions.
In Poland, TAHCLE was used to update the curriculum and training of
around 70,000 police officers on how to recognize hate crimes. In
Bulgaria, the Ministry of Interior signed the Memorandum of
Understanding with ODIHR in 2011. The implementation in Bulgaria
included the delivery of a training of trainers, the inclusion of
TACHLE in the national curriculum for police cadets and for
investigators. Following the implementation, ODIHR evaluated the
programme and the results were presented to the Ministry of Interior in
March 2014. In total, about 3000 Police officers were trained. ODIHR is
discussing follow-up activities with the Bulgarian authorities and
civil society organizations. As a follow-up to TAHCLE and as a part of
a comprehensive approach to address hate crimes, ODIHR also trained
civil society organizations in Bulgaria in 2013.
In Ukraine, ODIHR and the Ministry of Internal Affairs signed a
Memorandum of Understanding to implement TAHCLE in 2012. In 2012-13,
ODIHR took part in the work of the National Implementation Working
Group (NIWG) tasked with customizing the curriculum. ODIHR has already
customized the curriculum and facilitated consultation between Polish
and Ukrainian officials to share experience of how TAHCLE was
successfully implemented in Poland. Political turmoil at the end of
2013 led to the suspension of activities and ODIHR is now re-
establishing contacts with authorities.
Montenegrin Police Academy signed the Memorandum of Understanding
to implement TAHCLE in 2013 and the training of trainers session took
place in November to equip 16 trainers with necessary skills to cascade
the training. ODIHR conducted a follow-up visit in April 2014 to
monitor implementation. TAHCLE has become an integral part of the
Police Academy curriculum. Several workshops and meetings were
conducted to share knowledge and skills acquired during the training.
As a follow-up to TAHCLE and as a part of a comprehensive approach to
address hate crimes, ODIHR also trained civil society organizations in
Montenegro in 2013.
The Italian Observatory for Security against Acts of Discrimination
(OSCAD) signed a Memorandum of Understanding to implement TAHCLE in May
2013. So far, ODIHR conducted six half-day workshops and trained 160
National Police and Carabinieri officers. In July 2014, ODIHR conducted
a training of trainers for 29 National Police and Carabinieri
instructors, who will cascade the TAHCLE programme curriculum into
their training institutions.
TAHCLE programme is being implemented in Kosovo since December 2011
by the OSCE Mission in Kosovo. Around 350 police officers have been
trained up to date.
Finally, four other participating States have manifested interest
in implementing TAHCLE. These include Albania, Latvia, Lithuania and
the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. ODIHR will seek to sign a
Memorandum of Understanding with at least two of them in 2014.
Prosecutors--ODIHR and the International Association of Prosecutors
have developed a practical guide for prosecutors entitled Prosecuting
Hate Crimes: A Practical Guide. It will be published in October 2014.
Additionally, ODIHR developed a training curriculum to build
prosecutors' skills in investigating hate crimes. The newly created
Prosecutors and Hate Crimes Training (PAHCT) programme will be
implemented in a similar way to TAHCLE
Prosecutors training was first conducted in Kosovo and in Ukraine
(Crimea) in December 2011. This was followed by a trial training of
trainers in July 2012 in Warsaw. In 2013, ODIHR held workshops for
judges and prosecutors, or prosecutors and investigators, in Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Moldova and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. In
2014, ODIHR trained prosecutors in the Kosovo region 1 and
Serbia. Implementation of PAHCT and the signing of the Memorandum of
Understanding is currently being discussed with Bulgaria. Montenegro
and Greece have expressed interest in its implementation. In October
2014, ODIHR will deliver a workshop for Greek prosecutors.
promoting mutual respect and understanding, including holocaust
remembrance
Participating States are committed to supporting education
programmes on anti-Semitism and Holocaust education. Participating
States have also committed to promote remembrance of the Holocaust. In
this regard, participating States were encouraged to draw on ODIHR's
expertise. ODIHR has developed technical-assistance programmes in co-
operation with a number of partners, including the Task Force for
International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance and
Research, the Yad Vashem International School of Holocaust Studies in
Israel, and Anne Frank House in Amsterdam.
The following materials have been prepared by ODIHR:
Teaching Materials to Combat Anti-Semitism--developed in co-
operation with the Anne Frank House; they aim to raise awareness among
students on stereotypes and prejudices against Jews. (available at
http://tandis.odihr.pl/?p=ki-as,tm);
The Guide Addressing Anti-Semitism: Why and How? A Guide for
Educators, developed with Yad Vashem; the Guide provides educators with
facts, background information and good practices regarding how to
address anti-Semitism in the classroom. (available at http://
www.osce.org/odihr/70295);
Preparing Holocaust Memorial Days: Suggestions for Educators is a
set of recommendations for teachers on how to plan commemoration
activities connected with annual Holocaust Remembrance Days. The Guide
will be updated in 2012 (available at http://www.osce.org/odihr/17827);
Guidelines for Educators on Countering Intolerance and
Discrimination against Muslims--developed with UNESCO and the Council
of Europe: The Guidelines have been developed to support educators in
primary and secondary education as well as in non-formal education to
counter intolerance and discrimination against Muslims. They are
intended for education policymakers and officials, teacher trainers,
teachers, principals and head teachers, staff in teacher unions and
professional associations, and members of NGOs. (available at http://
www.osce.org/odihr/84495)
Teaching materials on combating anti-Semitism are available in 15
languages and the implementation of teaching materials continues. In
2014, ODIHR supported the organization of a meeting for the Anne Frank
House and partner organizations on designing online interactive tool on
bias and discrimination. ODIHR is also preparing a brochure to
publicize lessons learned on the implementation of the teaching
materials. Currently, ODIHR is negotiating a Memorandum of
Understanding with the Italian Ministry of Education.
Following the organization of three promotional roundtables,
organized with the Council of Europe and UNESCO, ODIHR has presented
the Guidelines to the Swedish authorities. ODIHR is now working with
the Greek Ministry of Education to launch the Greek version of the
Guidelines. In the fall, ODIHR and the Council of Europe will organize
a workshop on combating hate speech and intolerance against Muslims
aimed at assessing the scope of the issue.
holocaust memorial days
In 2012, ODIHR published a report ``Holocaust Memorial Days in the
OSCE Region''. It provides a country-by-country overview of the
official commemorative activities that take place in OSCE participating
States on Holocaust remembrance days. The publication shows that 37
OSCE participating States have established an official memorial day
dedicated specifically to the Holocaust. ODIHR is preparing an updated
version of this publication that will be launched on 27 January, the
International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the
Holocaust.
activities in 2015
ODIHR will continue assisting OSCE participating States in meeting
human dimension commitments in the field of tolerance and non-
discrimination to address the issue of hate crime. ODIHR will also,
upon request, assist OSCE participating States in reviewing legislation
pertaining to hate crimes and their alignment with international
standards and OSCE commitments. Activities will include roundtables,
workshops and training to exchange good practice and experience. They
will be conducted in close co-operation with OSCE Field Operations and
external ODIHR partners.
ODIHR's priorities for 2015 include the delivery and implementation
of TAHCLE and PAHCT training activities, enhancing co-operation with
participating States by improving the number of countries that report
to ODIHR on hate crimes and work with civil society, with a particular
focus on women. ODIHR will also seek to engage and explore
opportunities to work with parliaments to raise awareness about the
role of parliamentarians in addressing hate crimes and reaching out to
affected communities. ODIHR will also explore how to facilitate contact
and dialogue between authorities and groups affected by manifestations
of intolerance and hate crimes.
As regards promotion of mutual respect and understanding, ODIHR
will work with at least one participating State and sign a Memorandum
of Understanding to implement the teaching materials on combating anti-
Semitism. ODIHR will also continue to work with Moldova and engage with
another participating State to promote Holocaust remembrance. ODIHR
will reach out to participating States to promote the use of the
Guidelines for Educators on Countering Intolerance and Discrimination
against Muslims and, pending availability of funds, engage with
educators to explore the use of the Guidelines at the teacher training
colleges.
opportunities and challenges
The OSCE emerged as the leading international organization in
addressing hate crimes, intolerance and discrimination in the region.
The tools developed by ODIHR and the recently launched hate crime
reporting website have been recognized as unique resources available to
participating States, civil society and experts and have furthered
awareness-raising efforts on the dangers and impacts of hate crimes.
ODIHR's training programmes, built on the principles of partnership,
flexibility and collaboration, have attracted the attention of
participating States.
However, despite these opportunities, the OSCE faces continuous
challenges. Genuine political will to implement commitments to
strengthen responses and prevention of hate crimes is lacking in many
cases. Budgetary constraints hamper successful operation of ODIHR's
programmes, in particular, TAHCLE, programmes for people of African
descent and education activities on combating intolerance against
Muslims.
strengthening tolerance and non-discrimination
Recommendations to enhance the role of tolerance and non-
discrimination are related to providing additional resources for
ODIHR's programmatic activities, particularly TAHCLE and PAHCT.
The Department's role should be strengthened to serve as a mediator
and dialogue facilitator between authorities and civil society
organizations to build trust and improve the security and stability of
societies.
While ODIHR has a mandate to serve as a collection point on hate
crimes, ODIHR could be given the mandate to examine its key
observations and dialogue with authorities to identify potential
mechanisms for implementation of commitments in this area which would
not be dependent on a formal invitation from a participating State.
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