ODIHR's project Words into Action newsletter no. 3

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14 SEPTEMBER 2021| NEWSLETTER NO. 3

ODIHR's Turning Words into Action to Address Intolerance (WiA) project contributes to making societies across the OSCE region more equal, inclusive, resilient and free from all forms of discrimination.

The Words into Action to Address Intolerance project will be issuing newsletters every two months.

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In recent months, ODIHR’s Turning Words into Action to Address Intolerance (WiA) project continued to support and build capacities of security and educational institutions as well as civil society organizations (CSOs) across the OSCE region to provide effective responses to anti-Semitism, intolerance against Muslims, racism and discrimination.

In the area of security, the WiA project expanded the number of languages in which its resources to address hate crime and respond to security needs of minority communities are available. At the same time, together with the World Jewish Congress (WJC) and the European Commission (EC) Coordinator on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life, raised awareness and supported effective communication efforts between the national security institutions and the Jewish Community in Croatia.

As a part of project activities aiming at supporting civil society organizations, WiA explored the perspectives of CSOs on intolerance and discrimination and the COVID-19 pandemic, bringing together leading voices to discuss the impact of the global health crisis on various minority communities.

Enhancing the capacity of CSOs in Poland, WiA introduced them to ODIHR’s methodology to address and combat hate crime and discussed its applicability to the specific country context.

In the coming months, WiA plans many more exciting activities, among others, in partnership with UNESCO, a regional conference on addressing anti-Semitism, intolerance, and discrimination through education; more events with WJC and EC on addressing the security needs of the Jewish Community in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia; and workshops on combating hate crimes for CSOs in Malta and Cyprus.

14 SEPTEMBER 2021| NEWSLETTER NO. 3

National Security Institutions and the Jewish Community in Croatia: Raising Awareness and Building Effective Communication (7 June 2021)

Anti-Semitic hate crimes threaten Jewish individuals and communities, but also the very values that free, democratic, and inclusive societies are built on and thereby undermine societal stability and security. Hate incidents against Jewish individuals, cemetery desecrations, attacks on synagogues, Jewish cultural centers or Holocaust memorials hinder the enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms of Jewish individuals and communities across the OSCE region.

ODIHR has been mandated to offer best practices to participating States to effectively identify and counter anti-Semitism, including by consulting civil society. Among others, ODIHR was tasked to facilitate co-operation between governmental officials and civil society on anti-Semitism, including hate crime, to assist participating States in collecting data on anti-Semitic hate crimes, to closely monitor anti-Semitic incidents in the OSCE region, report its findings and publicise them. In this spirit, and as a part of the WiA project, ODIHR, together with the World Jewish Congress (WJC) and the European Commission (EC) Coordinator on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life, organizes a series of events aiming at raising awareness among law enforcement officials on security challenges to Jewish communities and building effective communication between the national security institutions and Jewish communities.

After similar efforts in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Serbia in June, ODIHR, the EC and the WJC organized the third online event of the series, this time in Croatia. The participants at the event represented Croatia’s Jewish communities, the Ministry of the Interior, the Government Office for Human Rights and Rights of National Minorities as well as international experts on addressing anti-Semitic hate crime. ODIHR, the EC and the WJC provided expert support and facilitated the meeting.

The event contributed to a greater understanding of the history of Jews in Croatia, of the underlying concepts of anti-Semitism, hate crime and tools to recognize it, and of practical steps that can be undertaken before, in the face of and after anti-Semitic hate crimes took place. The participants learned about national legislation on hate crime and police guidelines for hate crime incidents, national data collection and recording mechanisms, and applied this knowledge during interactive case study sessions. They collaboratively developed concrete action points, which are currently being implemented by all stakeholders. There will be a follow-up to see if the event organizers can be of further assistance to implement any of the action points.

Three more events in the series are planned in the next few weeks and months – on 17 September in Latvia, on 22 September in Lithuania and in November in Estonia.

Learn more about the event

“The Jewish Communities in Croatia highly appreciate the efforts made by ODIHR, the EC, and WJC to organize such an important event. It was a unique opportunity for us to come together with law enforcement officials to discuss our security concerns and learn about institutional efforts to address anti-Semitism. We committed to improving communication on all issues identified during the event, as well as to a continued and deepened cooperation between the Jewish Communities, the police, and all relevant governmental institutions.”

Sasa Cvetkovic, Vice President and Head of Security of the Jewish Community Zagreb

14 SEPTEMBER 2021| NEWSLETTER NO. 3

Intolerance and Discrimination during the COVID-19 Pandemic – Perspectives from Civil Society Organizations (29 June 2021)

Combating hatred and building tolerant societies is a key focus of ODIHR's work with civil society across the OSCE region. As the Covid-19 pandemic has increased the discrimination and exclusion many communities were already facing, civil society organizations remain at the frontline of countering those threats to peace and stability in our region.

Minoritized communities experienced the spread of rhetoric that scapegoats, dehumanizes, and demonizes various groups for being the cause of the virus and responsible for its spread. The ODIHR report on “OSCE Human Dimension Commitments and State Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic” notes how intolerant discourse and scapegoating of minorities have added to the complex task of addressing discrimination and hate crime. It also highlights the added difficulties imposed by pandemic-related restrictions to the work of civil society addressing these phenomena.

In this context, on 29 June 2021, ODIHR organized a webinar which brought together leading voices from civil society organizations to discuss the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on various minority communities.

A summary report of the event will be published by ODIHR’s WiA project.

Some of the messages of the discussion and recommendations made included:

Individuals and minority communities of Asian descent have had to face an unprecedented wave of COVID-related acts of discrimination and hate. We can only improve social cohesion if we manage to understand and confront the effects of hateful narratives and the legacies of fear that minority communities have felt during this period.

“With COVID-19 we saw an explosion of anti-Asian racism and hate incidents, online and offline. Raising public awareness and building victim support mechanisms are key to addressing intolerance and discrimination” (Sacha Lin-Jung, Co-Founder, Association of Chinese Youth of France)

When COVID-19 struck, Jewish people were among the minority groups immediately targeted. Centuries-old anti-Semitic conspiracy theories resurfaced to once more blame Jewish people as the origin of a pandemic, responsible for its spread. Swift and effective reaction is necessary to respond to and counter online and offline anti-Semitism and all forms of hate. Thinking preventively, we need mainstreamed anti-discrimination training and education as well as strong and diverse coalitions of solidarity.

“COVID-related anti-Semitic conspiracies reflect old tropes repackaged for a modern pandemic. Such conspiracies have accelerated online, arousing a renewed sense of insecurity among Jewish people.” (Dalia Grinfeld, Assistant Director for European Affairs, Anti-Defamation League)

Roma communities are among those most negatively affected by the pandemic. This includes hateful language that portrays Roma as a threat to public health, abusive behaviour by the police, online learning that often leaves Roma children further behind, and increased discrimination in access to healthcare.

“Distancing and hand washing was impossible for Roma living in overcrowded conditions without access to clean water and sanitation. Recovery plans must be fully inclusive, not ‘back to business as usual’.” (Bernard Rorke, Advocacy and Policy Manager, European Roma Rights Centre)

Muslim communities and individuals were among those affected by increased intolerance and discrimination resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Misinformation and fake news were circulated to portray Muslims as super-spreaders of the virus and violators of lockdown rules. Social media was used to propagate intolerant narratives and create hostility towards Muslims and other minority communities. Inclusive communication and messages of equality are needed from media outlets and political leadership, to ensure public narratives in times of crisis do not exacerbate discrimination.

"Online attacks often lead to real-life violence; this connection is real. We see it in the anti-Muslim incident reports we receive. Women are specific targets because of both sexism and their Muslim identity." (Iman Atta, OBE, Director, Tell MAMA)

14 SEPTEMBER 2021| NEWSLETTER NO. 3

ODIHR supported Lithuanian authorities and civil society organizations in improving their work on addressing hate crime (9 & 21 June 2021)

In June, ODIHR together with the Lithuanian Ministry of Interior and the Office of the Prosecutor-General of Lithuania, co-organized two online workshops on hate crime.

The first event on 9 June gathered experts representing civil society organizations working on hate crime, the Ministry of Interior, the Office of the Prosecutor-General, the Ombudsman’s Office, and various units of the police, including the Police Academy. The workshop discussed hate crime laws, methods to ensure better inter-agency coordination and combatting gender-based and disability hate crime. The conclusions from the meeting on how to address hate crime effectively and comprehensively in Lithuania will inform the future work of the Ministry of Interior Working Group.

The second workshop organized on 21 June gathered prosecutors from across the country, the Office of the Prosecutor-General and two observers from the Ministry of Interior and civil society each. The workshop consisted of a hate crime training, encompassing legal frameworks, bias indicators and the comprehensive approach to addressing hate crimes in Lithuania with the focus on the role of the prosecutors.

As a follow-up to both workshops, ODIHR was requested to assist in reviewing the existing guidance on prosecuting hate crimes in Lithuania. The possibility to implement ODIHR’s Prosecutors and Hate Crimes Training (PAHCT) in Lithuania was offered as a complementary measure to ensure sustainable hate crime training for prosecutors in the country.

14 SEPTEMBER 2021| NEWSLETTER NO. 3

Understanding and Addressing Hate Crime: Training for Polish Civil Society Organizations (29 – 30 June 2021)

Civil society organizations (CSOs) play an integral role in raising awareness about hate crimes, recording and reporting these crimes and providing victim support. Further, they can play a role in lobbying and advocating for better hate crime prevention and response by state authorities. ODIHR supports CSOs in their efforts to address contemporary intolerance and discrimination and combatting hate crimes by among others, providing capacity building activities.

ODIHR’s Workshop on Hate Crimes for Civil Society in Poland in hybrid format introduced CSOs to ODIHR’s hate crime methodology and discussed the applicability of the methodology to the specific context of Poland. Representatives of twelve Polish CSOs working on both local and national level, for whom hate crime monitoring is relevant participated in the event, bringing in their unique experience and perspectives.

Participants discussed ODIHR’s definition of hate crime, reviewed the concept of hate crime bias indicators, discussed Polish hate crime legislation, analyzed strategies for combating and monitoring hate crimes, discussed hate crime victim support and reviewed case studies that allowed them to apply what they have learned.

Participants provided feedback that they left the training equipped with new knowledge and motivated to continue or start their work on recording and reporting hate crimes but also on providing holistic support for hate crime victims.

“The training gave me better understanding of the definition and tools to recognize what can be classified as hate crime.
The knowledge on how to react to hate crimes and what strategies and possibilities are available for NGOs or individual persons in this respect as well as deepened understanding of needs of hate crime victims help us to better support migrants who experienced hate crimes.”

Myroslava Keryk, Co-Founder, Foundation "Our Choice"

14 SEPTEMBER 2021| NEWSLETTER NO. 3

Recently published publications developed and supported by WiA

Understanding Anti-Semitic Hate Crimes and Addressing the Security Needs of Jewish Communities: A Practical Guide in Serbian

Understanding Anti-Muslim Hate Crimes - Addressing the Security Needs of Muslim Communities: A Practical Guide in Italian

Anti-Muslim Hate Crime Factsheet in Serbian

Anti-Muslim Hate Crime Factsheet in Albanian

14 SEPTEMBER 2021| NEWSLETTER NO. 3

Upcoming events and activities

STAY TUNED

17 September: Raising Awareness and Building Effective Communication between National Security Institutions and the Jewish Community in Latvia, with the European Commission and the World Jewish Congress;
22 September: Raising Awareness and Building Effective Communication between National Security Institutions and the Jewish Community in Lithuania, with the European Commission and the World Jewish Congress;
3-4 November: Addressing Anti-Semitism, Intolerance and Discrimination through Education: Regional Conference for Policymakers and Educators, with UNESCO;
3-4 November: Combating Hate Crimes: Training on Hate Crimes for Civil Society in Cyprus;
9-10 November: Combating Hate Crimes: Training on Hate Crimes for Civil Society in Malta;
December (TBD): Implementation of the Muslim Security Guide in Italy with Observatory for Security against Acts of Discrimination (OSCAD).

ODIHR is looking for a web developer to maintain and update Hate Incident Reporting Platform

WIA has developed an online hate incident reporting platform. The platform allows for (1) victims and witnesses of hate crime and other incidents to report these incidents, (2) civil society organizations (CSOs) to record and monitor hate crime and other incidents, and (3) civil society organizations to share their data with ODIHR. Through technical analysis and consultation process, areas that require updates and improvement were identified.

ODIHR is looking for a Senior Full Stack Developer to implement the changes as per prepared software requirements specifications.

More information on the vacancy is available here. Apply by 16 September!

Turning Words into Action to Address Intolerance

tel.: +48 22 520 0600 | fax: +48 22 520 0605 | e-mail: WordsintoAction@odihr.pl |web:www.osce.org/project/wia

ul. Miodowa 10 | 00-251 Warsaw, Poland

The WiA project is implemented across the entire OSCE region with generous funding by the Government of Canada, Germany, the United States as well as other participating States.