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The Russian Federation’s ongoing aggression against Ukraine. Address by the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office on Combating Anti-Semitism; the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office on Combating Intolerance and Discrimination against Muslims; and the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office on Combating Racism, Xenophobia and Discrimination, also Focusing on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians and Members of Other Religions. Address by the Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office on Combating Corruption, Prof. Anita Ramasastry. Increasing military involvement of certain NATO and EU member States in yet more confrontation in and around Ukraine. Human Rights Day, observed on 10 December 2024.

1502nd Plenary Meeting of the Permanent Council

1502nd Plenary Meeting of the Permanent Council

1502nd Plenary Meeting of the Permanent Council

1502nd Plenary Meeting of the Permanent Council

1502nd Plenary Meeting of the Permanent Council

1502nd Plenary Meeting of the Permanent Council

The Commentary on the Law on Prevention and Protection against Discrimination (Commentary) is a successful pioneering attempt to bring closer the contents of the Law on Prevention and Protection against Discrimination (LPPD) by analytically deconstructing the scope of its articles, for which the authors have provided support from the relevant equality and non-discrimination literature, practice and case law of domestic and international courts and bodies. The Commentary was developed in the period 2021-2024 as joint effort of five experts from judiciary, academia and legal practitioners. The preparatory work was initiated in 2019, but as the new Law on Prevention and Protection of Discrimination (LPPD) was adopted in October 2020, the work on the new text commenced in 2021. The clear expression of the language and the exceptional level of elaborating the subject-matter make the Commentary potentially useful for different professional backgrounds and different levels of understanding of the subject-matter. One of the qualities of this Commentary is that it not only dwells on the theoretical and practical side of the LPPD, but it also holds a normative component. Namely, the authors have successfully considered the Law’s shortcomings, too, and made proposals for its improvement, thereby using their own critical and analytical quill and other existing literature and data from relevant institutions. As a specific legal publication, the Commentary targets judges, lawyers and other legal professionals working on cases of discrimination as well as independent institutions, such as the Commission for Prevention and Protection from Discrimination and the Ombudsperson Institution, as well as civil society and international organizations active in this area.

It is important to know what is a hate crime. When a hate crime is committed, one or more perpetrators target the victim, which can be one or more people or property, because of a protected aspect of the victim's identity, such as religion or ethnicity, race, sexual orientation or disability. Similarly, a hate incident is an act of hostility motivated by prejudice or bias that does not necessarily reach the threshold of a criminal offence, or the criminal nature of which is yet to be determined. A hate crime is any crime where the perpetrator is driven by prejudice or bias. Criminal offence + bias motive = hate crime.

On 18 December 2023, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) hosted a consultative meeting examining State practices and the role of civil society in relation to incidents of desecration of religious texts, including Quran-burning. The consultation was held during the annual meeting of ODIHR’s Panel of Experts on Freedom of Religion or Belief, and efforts were made to bring other actors with relevant experience and perspectives to the table. Thus, the meeting brought together actors ranging from academics working on issues related to freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief (FoRB) and on intolerance against Muslims, representatives of Muslim communities and wider civil society, representatives of intergovernmental organizations, to representatives from OSCE participating States. It also achieved both a gender and intergenerational balance. This report will discuss why the consultation was held, provide background information as to the relevant legal and policy framework, and then present the discussions that were held and recommendations arising from the discussions.