IV 
108TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 425
Expressing the sense of Congress in support of the ongoing work of the 
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in com-
bating anti-Semitism, racism, xenophobia, discrimination, intolerance, and 
related violence. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 13, 2004
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey (for himself and Mr. CARDIN) submitted the fol-
lowing concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
International Relations 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Expressing the sense of Congress in support of the ongoing 
work of the Organization for Security and Cooperation 
in Europe (OSCE) in combating anti-Semitism, racism, 
xenophobia, discrimination, intolerance, and related vio-
lence.
Whereas anti-Semitism is a unique evil and an affront to 
human rights that must be unequivocally condemned, and 
a phenomenon that, when left unchecked, has led to vio-
lence against members of the Jewish community and 
Jewish institutions; 
Whereas racism, xenophobia, and discrimination are also per-
nicious ills that erode the dignity of the individual and
•HCON 425 IH 
such intolerance undermines the achievement and preser-
vation of stable democratic societies; 
Whereas to be effective in combating these phenomena, gov-
ernments must respond to related violence while seeking 
to address the underlying sources of anti-Semitism, rac-
ism, xenophobia, discrimination, intolerance, and related 
violence through public denouncements by elected leaders, 
vigorous law enforcement, and education; 
Whereas all Organization for Security and Cooperation in 
Europe (OSCE) participating states must confront acts 
of anti-Semitism and intolerance, and must deal effec-
tively with acts of violence against Jews and Jewish cul-
tural sites, as well as against ethnic and religious minor-
ity groups, in keeping with their OSCE commitments; 
Whereas education is critical in overcoming intolerance and 
it is essential that those responsible for formulating edu-
cation policy recognize the importance of teaching about 
the Holocaust and intolerance as a tool to fight anti-Sem-
itism, racism, xenophobia, and discrimination among 
young people; 
Whereas ensuring proper training of law enforcement officers 
and military forces is vital in keeping alive the memory 
of the Holocaust and to the importance of understanding 
and responding to incidents of anti-Semitism and intoler-
ance; 
Whereas OSCE participating states have repeatedly com-
mitted to condemn anti-Semitism and intolerance, fore-
most in the historic 1990 Copenhagen Concluding Docu-
ment that, for the first time, declared ‘‘participating 
[s]tates clearly and unequivocally condemn totali-
tarianism, racial and ethnic hatred, anti-Semitism, xeno-
•HCON 425 IH 
phobia and discrimination against anyone,’’ and stated 
their intent to ‘‘take effective measures . . . to provide 
protection against any acts that constitute incitement to 
violence against persons or groups based on national, ra-
cial, ethnic or religious discrimination, hostility or hatred, 
including anti-Semitism’’; 
Whereas the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly has dem-
onstrated leadership by unanimously passing resolutions 
at its annual sessions in 2002 and 2003 that condemn 
anti-Semitism, racial and ethnic hatred, xenophobia, and 
discrimination and call upon participating states to speak 
out against these acts and to ensure aggressive law en-
forcement by local and national authorities; 
Whereas the 2002 Porto OSCE Ministerial Council Decision 
committed participating states to ‘‘take strong public po-
sitions against . . . manifestations of aggressive nation-
alism, racism, chauvinism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism and 
violent extremism,’’ specifically condemned the ‘‘recent 
increase in anti-Semitic incidents in the OSCE area, rec-
ognizing the role that the existence of anti-Semitism has 
played throughout history as a major threat to freedom,’’ 
and urged for the ‘‘convening of separately designated 
human dimension events on issues addressed in this deci-
sion, including on the topics of anti-Semitism, discrimina-
tion and racism and xenophobia’’; 
Whereas the 2003 OSCE Vienna conferences on anti-Semi-
tism and racism, xenophobia and discrimination were 
groundbreaking, as the OSCE and its participating states 
met to discuss ways to combat these destructive forces; 
Whereas the 2003 Maastricht Ministerial Council approved 
follow-up OSCE conferences on anti-Semitism and on 
racism, xenophobia and discrimination, and encouraged
•HCON 425 IH 
‘‘all participating [s]tates to collect and keep records on 
reliable information and statistics on hate crimes, includ-
ing on forms of violent manifestations of racism, xeno-
phobia, discrimination, and anti Semitism,’’ as well as to 
inform the OSCE Office of Democratic Institutions and 
Human Rights (ODIHR) ‘‘about existing legislation re-
garding crimes fuelled by intolerance and discrimina-
tion’’; 
Whereas at the 2004 OSCE Conference on Anti-Semitism, 
hosted in the German capital, the Bulgarian Chairman-
in-Office issued the ‘‘Berlin Declaration’’ which stated 
unambiguously that ‘‘international developments or polit-
ical issues, including those in Israel or elsewhere in the 
Middle East, never justify anti-Semitism’’; 
Whereas the Berlin Declaration advances the process of mon-
itoring of anti-Semitic crimes and hate crimes, as all 
OSCE participating states committed to ‘‘collect and 
maintain’’ statistics about these incidents and to forward 
that information to the ODIHR for compilation; 
Whereas during the closing conference plenary, the German 
Foreign Minister and others highlighted the need to en-
sure all participating states follow through with their 
commitments and initiate efforts to track anti-Semitic 
crimes and hate crimes; and 
Whereas the Government of Spain offered to hold a follow up 
meeting in Cordoba next year to review whether OSCE 
participating states are making every effort to fulfill their 
OSCE commitments regarding data collection on anti-Se-
mitic crimes and hate crimes: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that—
•HCON 425 IH 
(1) the United States Government and Con-
gress should unequivocally condemn acts of anti-
Semitism and intolerance whenever and wherever 
they occur; 
(2) officials and elected leaders of all Organiza-
tion for Security and Cooperation in Europe 
(OSCE) participating states, including all OSCE 
Mediterranean Partner for Cooperation countries, 
should also unequivocally condemn acts of anti-Semi-
tism, racism, xenophobia, and discrimination when-
ever and wherever they occur; 
(3) the participating states of the OSCE should 
be commended for supporting the Berlin Declaration 
and for working to bring increased attention to inci-
dents of anti-Semitism and intolerance in the OSCE 
region; 
(4) the United States Government, including 
Members of Congress, recognizing that the funda-
mental job of combating anti-Semitism and intoler-
ance falls to governments, should work with other 
OSCE participating states and their parliaments to 
encourage the full compliance with OSCE commit-
ments and, if necessary, urge the creation of legal 
mechanisms to combat and track acts of anti-Semi-
tism and intolerance;
•HCON 425 IH 
(5) all participating states, including the United 
States, should forward their respective laws and 
data on incidents of anti-Semitism and other hate 
crimes to the OSCE Office for Democratic Institu-
tions and Human Rights (ODIHR) for compilation 
and provide adequate resources for the completion of 
its duties; 
(6) the United States should encourage the 
Bulgarian Chairman-in-Office, in consultation with 
the incoming Slovenian Chairman-in-Office, to con-
sider appointing a high level ‘‘personal envoy’’ to en-
sure sustained attention with respect to fulfilling 
OSCE commitments on reporting of anti-Semitic 
crimes; 
(7) the United States should urge OSCE par-
ticipating states that have not already done so to 
join the Task Force for International Cooperation on 
Holocaust Education, Remembrance, and Research; 
and 
(8) all OSCE participating states should renew 
and revitalize efforts to implement their existing 
commitments to fight anti-Semitism and intolerance, 
and keep sharp focus on these issues as part of the 
usual work of the OSCE Permanent Council, the
•HCON 425 IH 
Human Dimension Implementation Review Meeting, 
the Ministerial Council and summits.
Æ