Tolerance and non-discrimination
Racism, xenophobia and other forms of intolerance continue to threaten security in the increasingly diverse societies of the OSCE region. The Organization therefore dedicates resources and efforts to promote tolerance and non-discrimination that foster a stronger sense of security in its participating States.
The OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) has developed a collection of resources and programmes to raise awareness about discrimination, hate crimes, anti-Semitism and other forms of intolerance, including against Muslims, Christians and members of other religions. Through policy advice and training for law enforcement personnel and educators, the Office works to strengthen the capacity of governments to prevent and respond to this problem. ODIHR also works to increase the ability of civil society to monitor and report on hate crimes and incidents.
A number of OSCE field operations work on tolerance and non-discrimination, particularly through the following activities:
- Working with religious leaders, young people and school officials to promote tolerance, inter-faith dialogue and acceptance of diversity;
- Advising institutions to improve and implement anti-discrimination policies;
- Helping to improve the capabilities of institutions and civil society to address hate speech;
- Working with anti-discrimination institutions to help implement legal frameworks in support of equality for all;
- Training programmes for judges and public prosecutors;
- Assisting in the development of legislation and policies, research activities and public outreach;
- Capacity building for legal practitioners; and
- Safeguarding ethnic, cultural, linguistic and religious identities of persons belonging to minorities.