MADRID, 1 October 2007 - How to best prevent discrimination and intolerance against Muslims and promote a positive climate in which believers of all religions can live together in harmony will be the focus of discussions held by politicians, experts and religious leaders at a high-level OSCE meeting next week.

Sessions at the 9-10 October OSCE Chairmanship Conference on Intolerance and Discrimination against Muslims will deal with topics such as how education can help overcome intolerance against Muslims and what can be learned from other communities' work in fighting discrimination.

Participants will also discuss how the OSCE can help its 56 participating States and 11 Partners for Co-operation combat intolerance against Muslims and counter extremist influences.

Speakers at the meeting, which will be chaired by the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos, include Amr Moussa, Secretary General of the Arab League, Jorge Sampaio, the United Nations High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations, and Spanish Justice Minister Mariano Fernandez Bermejo.

A side event held on 9 October featuring journalists and academic experts will focus on the role of media in shaping attitudes toward Muslims. The public is invited to this event.

Non-governmental organizations are set to participate in the meeting, as well as in a preparatory meeting in the city of Jaen on October 8. For more information about this meeting, please see http://www.tresculturas.org/ficha_actividades.cfm?id=867

Encouraging participation in pluralistic societies is one of the priorities set by the 2007 Spanish OSCE Chairmanship.

The OSCE held a Conference on Anti-Semitism and on Other Forms of Intolerance in 2005 in Cordoba, and has since held several meetings on intolerance, including the High-Level Conference on Combating Discrimination and Promoting Mutual Respect and Understanding, which was held in June in Bucharest.

The entire meeting is open to media. Journalists interested in trying to organize interviews with participants are encouraged to contact the OSCE press staff. For more information, including an annotated agenda, please see OSCE Chairmanship Conference on Intolerance and Discrimination against Muslims, Cordoba, 9-10 October 2007

Media accreditation has been extended to 4 October. The accreditation form is available on http://www.osce.org/item/25802.html