# Presentation: 420627

## Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights 

**Combating Intolerance and Discrimination against Muslims**
**Tolerance and Non-Discrimination Department**
**June 2008**

## Why a special focus on Tolerance and Non-Discrimination?

- Increase of racist, xenophobic, anti-Semitic and other intolerant acts in the OSCE region
- High-level conferences in 2003-07 requested increased action to address increasing acts of intolerance

## Creation of Tolerance and Non-Discrimination Programme

- 2003 Maastricht MC Decision expands ODIHR’s mandate
- Includes violent manifestations of intolerance: hate incidents and crimes
- Need for a specific approach to improve: data collection, legislation, law enforcement and tolerance education

## Mandate of the Tolerance and Non-Discrimination Programme

- (1) compile data, statistics, legislation and best practices relating to hate crimes;
- (2)  promote freedom of religion or belief;
- (3) education and training tools to counter intolerance;
- (4) cooperate and coordinate with other intergovernmental agencies and civil society

## Why a special focus on Anti-Muslim Intolerance and Discrimination?

- OSCE’s holistic and thematic approach
- Increase of violent manifestations of intolerance against Muslims after 9/11

## Manifestations of Intolerance against Muslims

- Physical attacks and verbal harassments against individuals
- Vandalism and desecration of mosques, Koran and cemeteries
- Discriminatory policies in immigration, employment, access to public services
- Anti-terrorism policies with racial profiling
- Biased media coverage and political discourse
- Denial of accommodation of religion in schools and work place
- Restrictions on building mosques

## OSCE Decisions on Intolerance and Discrimination against Muslims

- Rejection of identification of terrorism and extremism with a particular religion or culture
- Collection of reliable data on hate crimes
- Inter-faith/inter-cultural dialogue
- Protection of freedom of religion
- Educational and awareness-raising measures
- Role of media
- Cooperation with civil society

## ODIHR Activities to Combat Intolerance against Muslims

- _Cross-cutting Activities: _
- Hate Crime Monitoring
- Law Enforcement Officers Capacity Building (LEOP)
- Tolerance and Non-Discrimination Information System (TANDIS)
- Civil Society Capacity Building
- Freedom of Religion

## ODIHR Activities to Combat Intolerance against Muslims

- _Specific Activities:_
- Country Specific Resource Books on Muslim Communities
- Educational Tools to Combat Anti-Muslim Intolerance
- Muslim NGO Roundtable Meetings
- Cooperation with CiO Personal Representative on Combating Intolerance against Muslims

## American Context

- _Strengths:_
- An immigration country
- Strong hate crime legislation and data collection system
- Respect for freedom of religion or belief

**2008**

## American Context

- _Challenges:_
- Impact of 9/11
- Racial Profiling
- Biased Portrayal of Muslims in political discourse and media
- Need for more effective educational initiatives to combat intolerance against Muslims

## Taskin Tankut Soykan
Adviser on Combating Intolerance and 
Discrimination against Muslims
OSCE-ODIHR

Email: taskin.soykan@odihr.pl 
Website: http://www.osce.org/odihr 

***Adviser on Combating Intolerance and ***
***Discrimination against Muslims***
***OSCE-ODIHR***
***Email: ***_[taskin.soykan@odihr.pl](mailto:taskin.soykan@odihr.pl)_*** ***
***Website: ***_[http://www.osce.org/odihr](http://www.osce.org/odihr)_*** ***