New York, NY, November 26, 2013 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today presented its annual analysis of hate crime response in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) region and called on U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to ensure that the fight against hate crime remains squarely on the OSCE agenda.
In advance of the OSCE Ministerial Meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, which will take place on December 5 and December 6, ADL urged the U.S. to press participating states to monitor hate crime and confront anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry.
“U.S. leadership has been critical in making the OSCE a forum for elevating the need for governments to take action against anti-Semitism, hate crime, and all forms of discrimination,” said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director. “Ten years after OSCE participating States made multiple commitments to hate crime data collection, states continue to fall short in their commitments to combat and report hate crime – only 27 of the 57 participating states actually submitted official statistics. We look forward to continuing our work with Secretary Kerry to ensure that fighting anti-Semitism and hate crime remains a top priority.”
Earlier this month, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) released their report on hate crime in the 57 participating states of the OSCE and government responses. ADL, in partnership with Human Rights First (HRF), analyzes data and rates countries’ performance in meeting their obligations to address anti-Semitism and hate crime. The ADL/HRF analysis provides a series of recommendations for governments to address hate crimes and urges them to utilize the training tools and resources that currently exist in the OSCE's hate crime toolkit.
The OSCE is the leading intergovernmental organization tracking and addressing hate crime response. ADL has worked closely with ODIHR to develop resources and action items for OSCE member nations on effective ways to confront violent bigotry, including resources on anti-Semitism, anti-bias education, hate crime data collection, combating youth violence, hate on the Internet, and Holocaust education. The League collaborated with ODIHR in preparing key components of their tool-kit to help states address hate crime: A resource guide for community organizations on Preventing and Responding to Hate Crime, and ODIHR's Hate Crime Laws: A Practical Guide, which provides practical advice for lawmakers, community organizations and law enforcement for responding to bias crimes.