CiO Representatives to promote tolerance
(Personal Representatives of the Chairman-in-Office to promote greater tolerance and combat racism, xenophobia and discrimination)
On 22 January 2009, OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Dora Bakoyannis appointed three new personal representatives on tolerance and non-discrimination.
The first three representatives were appointed by the Bulgarian OSCE Chairmanship in December 2004 and their mandates extended by subsequent Chairmanships from 2005 to 2008.
Rabbi Andrew Baker
Personal Representative on Combating Anti-Semitism
Rabbi Andrew Baker is director of International Jewish Affairs at the American Jewish Committee (AJC), which he joined in 1979. A leading expert on anti-Semitism in Europe, he travels extensively to strengthen relations between the AJC and Jewish communities worldwide. Throughout most of the 1990s, as director of European Affairs, Rabbi Baker promoted tolerance in the emerging democracies of Central and Eastern Europe. He is active in Holocaust restitution issues and in 2003 was awarded the Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit by Germany for his work in German-Jewish relations.
Ambassador Vyacheslav Gizzatov
Personal Representative on Combating Intolerance and Discrimination against Muslims
Since 2005, Ambassador Vyacheslav Gizzatov has been Head of the Governmental Delegation on Delimitation and Demarcation of the State Border and Special Adviser to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan. He was Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Turkmenistan from 2003 to 2005, to Germany from 2000 to 2003, and to Iran from 1997 to 2000. Before this, he was Deputy Foreign Minister from 1993 to 1997 and Head of the Ministry's Department on America and Europe from 1992 to 1993.
Mr. Mario Mauro
Personal Representative on Combating Racism, Xenophobia and Discrimination, also focusing on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians and Members of Other Religions
Mario Mauro is a member of the European Parliament's High Level Group on gender equality and diversity, and works to ensure the equal treatment regarding working conditions in the European institutions. He is a member of the Foreign Affairs Parliamentary Committee, where he has successfully promoted 35 motions on cases of discrimination, racism and other breaches of human rights, as well as on promoting democracy and the rule of law. He is also the Parliament's Vice-President responsible for relations with churches and religious communities.

OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis (right) with the Personal Representative on Combating Anti-Semitism, Rabbi Andrew Baker, at the Foreign Ministry in Athens, 3 March 2009. (OSCE/Antonios Doykas)
Links
- Reports by the three CiO Representatives
- Speeches by the three CiO Representatives
- Documents and resources related to the Personal Representatives, available on the Tolerance and Non-Discrimination Information System (TANDIS)
- Gert Weisskirchen and Kathrin Meyer (ODIHR Advisor on Anti-Semitism Issues) speak at US Helsinki Commission hearing, 29 January 2008
- View webcast of the hearing (1 hr 46 mins; Real Player video)
- EVENT: NGO roundtable meeting on intolerance and discrimination against Muslims: "Youth and Education", Vienna, 17 December 2008
- CONFERENCE: Conference on Intolerance and Discrimination against Muslims, Cordoba, 9-10 October 2007
- MULTIMEDIA: Anastasia Crickley speaks on progress and remaining challenges in implementing the OSCE Action Plan on Roma and Sinti, Warsaw, 27 September 2007 (audio clip)
- CONFERENCE: Conference on Combating Discrimination and Promoting Mutual Respect and Understanding, Bucharest, 7 and 8 June 2007
- PRESS RELEASE: OSCE Chair appoints three Personal Representatives to promote tolerance and non-discrimination, 23 December 2004
Documents
Chairmanship review of the contribution made by the three Personal Representatives to the OSCE's overall effort to combat intolerance and discrimination, 21 December 2007
English (99.1 KB)
View as HTML:
English
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