Words into Action to Address Intolerance

(OSCE)

Description

ODIHR’s Turning Words into Action to Address Intolerance (WIA) project contributes to making societies across the OSCE region equal, inclusive, cohesive and resilient, free from all forms of discrimination and marginalization. Building on an earlier project – Turning Words into Action to Address Anti-Semitism, implemented by ODIHR in 2016-2019 – the WIA project maintains the focus on preventing and responding to anti-Semitism while broadening the scope to also address other forms of intolerance and discrimination. This overarching objective will be achieved through the project’s priority areas of addressing the security needs of minority communities, countering intolerance through education, and fostering coalition building among civil society organizations. The WIA project is implemented across the entire OSCE region with generous funding by the Government of Canada, Germany, the United States as well as other participating States.

Objectives

As part of the WIA project, ODIHR works with security and educational institutions across the OSCE region to provide effective responses to anti-Semitism, intolerance against Muslims, racism, xenophobia and discrimination.

In the area of security, the WIA project:

facilitates co-operation between governments and civil society
gives guidance on the provision of security for minority communities
offers capacity-building initiatives for criminal justice bodies, security institutions and government agencies.

Particular attention is given to strengthening legislation, policies and practices to combat hate crime.

In the education component, the project will develop educational materials and raise awareness among policymakers of the importance of education to counter anti-Semitism and other forms of intolerance and discrimination.

The WIA project also builds the capacity of civil society organizations to address intolerance and discrimination and combat hate crime, including through supporting their efforts to forge effective civil society coalitions. Activities in this area include training on hate crime identification and reporting, and providing technical tools to record, monitor and report hate crimes.