OSCE human rights body concerned about continued rise of hate crime

WARSAW, 20 September 2007 - Crimes motivated by hate are on the rise in many OSCE participating States, and such incidents are becoming more violent, according to a new report on hate crimes and violent manifestations of intolerance in 2006, released by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) today.

"While the report is by no means a complete overview of all hate incidents in the OSCE region, it shows worrying trends," said ODIHR Director Ambassador Christian Strohal. "Hate crimes are particularly aggravating and have a potential to threaten security and stability. I see this report as an important early-warning tool because it highlights areas where stronger responses to violent acts of hatred are needed."

The report finds that political leaders are increasingly using racist, xenophobic, anti-Semitic, homophobic and discriminatory language, and that human rights defenders continue to be targets of hate-motivated actions. It also notes an increase in the number of organized racist groups and of racist sites on the Internet.

Particularly worrying is the fact that more and more racist and xenophobic attacks are committed by young perpetrators, according to the report.

Visibly identifiable Jews and Muslims, such as Rabbis, orthodox Jews and Muslim women wearing the hijab, have increasingly become targets of violence and harassment, thus underlining that openly manifesting one's faith has become dangerous in many places, the report states.

A further disturbing trend could been seen with the fire-bombing and desecration of mosques, cemeteries and cultural centres, said the report. In several cases, severed pig heads were left at places of worship and graveyards.

The report, "Hate Crimes in the OSCE Region: Incidents and Responses" is based on information from OSCE States as well as from international and non-governmental organizations. It gives examples of how states respond to hate-motivated incidents, and outlines the challenges that Governments and civil society face in this regard.

"While some states have shown leadership through their efforts to publicly condemn hate crimes and ensure an effective police response, in many states there is a continuing failure to recognize crimes motivated by bias, and to investigate, prosecute and sentence them in accordance with their seriousness," Strohal said.

The report was released ahead of the opening Monday of Europe's largest human rights conference, the OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting. Tolerance and non-discrimination will be the focus of discussions on Tuesday, the second day of the two-week meeting.