A
report jointly released today by Human Rights First and the Anti-Defamation
League (ADL) found that hate crimes in the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) region continue to go unreported by participating
States, which consistently fall short on their commitments to combat hate
crime.
The
report, “Scorecard
on Hate Crime Response in the OSCE Region” identifies a number of
recommendations for participating countries, including the United States. The
report comes days before the OSCE meets in Vienna for a conference on the
promotion of tolerance and nondiscrimination.
“In some OSCE countries there has been a rise
in anti-Semitic hate crime,” noted the report. “This alarming development can
be traced to both incitement from neo-fascist groups and the growth of violent
Islamist extremist groups. Anti-Semitism is a virulent thread that runs through
the ideologies of many extremist groups, even though their worldviews converge
on little else.”
Today’s
report analyzes data submitted by countries to the OSCE’s Office for Democratic
Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) for its annual hate crimes report. This
annual report is an important tool for understanding the nature and frequency
of hate crime across the region, and to craft responsive policies. However, the
organizations note that the report only provides a partial picture, as many
countries either do not collect such data or fail to transmit their findings to
the ODIHR on a timely basis. In the current environment, with the refugee
crisis, the rise of far-right parties and movements espousing hatred, and an
increase in hate crimes—there is an urgent need for the OSCE’s participating
States to make reporting a higher priority.
Only
36 of the 57 participating States submitted information to the ODIHR for 2014.
Half of participating States either did not report at all or reported zero
crimes for their country. Human Rights First and ADL caution that this lack of
reporting and underreporting is simply not acceptable or credible.
Both
Human Rights First and ADL have developed recommendations for the United States
to aid its European allies in combating the rise of antisemitic and extremist
violence, specifically in France, Germany, and Hungary.
