Efforts by prosecutors and law enforcement to counter hate crimes at centre of OSCE/ODIHR training programmes in Iceland

Improving the ability to record, investigate and prosecute hate crimes was the focus of two training-of-trainers events for police officers and prosecutors, respectively, organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), in Reykjavik this week.

The events were part of ODIHR’s Training against Hate Crime for Law Enforcement (TAHCLE) and Prosecutors and Hate Crime Training (PAHCT) programmes. The TAHCLE event, held from 24 to 26 April 2017, emphasized the role law enforcement officers play in countering hate crimes, while the PAHCT event, which took place from 26 to 28 April, focused on the skills required to successfully prosecute hate crimes.

“These two training events will help strengthen the ability of officials across Iceland’s criminal justice sector to counter hate crime,” said François Deleu, ODIHR Hate Crime Officer. “The comprehensive approach Iceland is taking, simultaneously training police and prosecutors, is critical to ensuring an effective response to hate crime. Following these events, participants will be able to train their colleagues and share this knowledge throughout the Icelandic Police and the prosecution service.”

These training activities took place in parallel to a TAHCLE training-of-trainers event in Finland. The two Nordic countries are among the 13 OSCE participating States implementing the TAHCLE programme. Launched in 2011, the programme is also under way in Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Malta, Montenegro, Poland and Turkey. The Spanish city of Valencia and Kosovo are also implementing TAHCLE. The PAHCT programme, active since 2014, is being implemented in Bulgaria, Georgia, Iceland and Poland.