(Vatican Radio) The Holy See delegation to the OSCE has made a statement at a meeting on Hate Crimes.
“The poor attention given to hate crimes committed against majority communities and the fact that hate crimes motivated by religious bias or prejudice are under-reported and under-recorded …imply that the hate crimes against members of religions and, especially against Christians, are certainly more numerous than those indicated [in annual reports],” said Monsignor Janusz Urbańczyk, the Permanent Representative of the Holy See to the OSCE.
The full text of the statement is below.
STATEMENT BY MONSIGNOR JANUSZ S. URBAŃCZYK,
PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF THE HOLY SEE,
AT THE REINFORCED HUMAN DIMENSION COMMITTEE MEETING
ON HATE CRIMES
17 NOVEMBER 2015
Mr. Chairperson,
1. At the outset, my Delegation wishes to note that the participation of the Holy See in the OSCE is specific and corresponds to its nature as a sovereign subject of international law that pursues religious and moral ends, and which, however, is separate and distinct from the Vatican City State. Therefore the Holy See contributes to this meeting in accordance with its universal moral and spiritual mission, while respecting the primary responsibility of the participating States to protect individuals within their jurisdictions.
2. As a general premise, the Holy See notes with deep concern that in the entire OSCE area – both East and West of Vienna – many persons and communities are subject to threats or acts of hostility or violence as a result of their racial, ethnic or religious identity. The Holy See is also fully aware of, and deplores, numerous acts of intolerance and discrimination occurring in the OSCE area, for example on linguistic and cultural grounds, or based on property and social origin or, moreover, for political reasons and so on.
All the phenomena just mentioned undoubtedly threaten the social cohesion inside each participating State, affecting the wider community that is the victim. But only some of them might erode confidence between States and trigger violence and conflict on a wider-scale, putting in danger the peaceful relations among the States.
Therefore, the Holy See remains confident that, in accordance with its nature as a security organization, the OSCE will develop a specific response to those phenomena that can undermine the peace and stability of the Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian Region, remaining within the realm of the commitments consensually agreed upon by the Participating States.
In this regard, it is useful to recall, inter alia, that the Ministerial Council Decision No. 13/06, encouraged the ODIHR’s activities to be “based on existing commitments”. Undue attention to other concerns, even if legitimate, serves only to distract the efforts of the OSCE and the ODIHR, as well as to forestall effective and timely measures to address the original commitments, many of which have yet to be implemented.
3. That being said, and having heard the presentation of findings of ODIHR’s 2014 hate crime reporting, the Holy See would make the following remarks, also based on the activity of its National Point of Contact:
a. Data on hate crimes reported by the police confirm – especially when dealing with hate crimes motivated by religious bias or prejudice – that “victims of hate crimes may belong to both minority and majority communities,” as already acknowledged by the Ministerial Council Decision No. 9/09. In several participating States, hate crimes against Christians and members of other religions represent a very significant number of hate crimes recorded. Therefore, as a wide group statement highlighted in the closing plenary session of the Tirana High-Level Conference on Tolerance and Non-Discrimination, “it has become outdated to talk about minority and majority religions,” since “all religions or beliefs are concerned, often in ways that go unnoticed” (PC.DEL/383/13). On the other hand, too often the term ‘minorities’ is used as a synonym of ‘victims,’ as if the victims could belong only to minority groups.
b. Anti-Semitic hate crimes and hate crimes motivated by religious bias or prejudice are mainly perpetrated not against persons, but against properties. In fact, about 60/70% of such hate crimes were committed against properties. Since, in several jurisdictions, crimes against properties are considered less serious than those against persons, there is both the risk of under-recording and a reluctance to investigate and prosecute these crimes.
c. The poor attention given to hate crimes committed against majority communities and the fact that hate crimes motivated by religious bias or prejudice are under-reported and under-recorded for the reasons mentioned above, imply that the hate crimes against members of religions and, especially against Christians, are certainly more numerous than those indicated in the annual reporting of the ODIHR.
4. In light of the above, the Holy See wishes to make the following recommendations: firstly, the National Points of Contact are called upon to collect, maintain and make public disaggregated data on hate crimes perpetrated against members of different religions, in accordance with Ministerial Decision No. 9/09; secondly, more attention should by given to hate crimes perpetrated against majority communities, both in data collection and training programs for law enforcement (TAHCLE), prosecutors (PAHCT) and Civil Society that are designed by the ODIHR and implemented by the participating States.
Furthermore, consideration should be given to developing specific initiatives pertaining to the protection of Christian communities, as has already been done by the ODIHR for the Jewish and the Muslim communities. In this respect, it should also be recalled that, in accordance with Ministerial Council Decision No. 3/13, participating States have already committed themselves to “adopt policies to promote respect and protection for places of worship and religious sites, religious monuments, cemeteries and shrines against vandalism and destruction”.
5. With regard to hate crime laws, we were informed today that 51 participating States (of the 57 participating States of the OSCE) include race, ethnicity, nationality or similar characteristics in their hate crimes provisions, while 46 include religion or belief among the protected characteristics. Moreover, a smaller number of participating States include other protected characteristics in their hate crime laws.
Finally, it should be noted that there are also less commonly protected categories, including marital status, birth, wealth, class, property, social position, political affiliation or ideology and military service (see OSCE/ODIHR Hate Crime Laws. A Practical Guide, 2009, p. 25)
6. Thus we can say that there is a broad consensus in the OSCE area that considers race, ethnicity, nationality, religion or belief as protected categories in national hate crimes laws, in line with the relevant UN human rights instruments and standards.
On the other hand, there is no such consensus about other categories, which are more or less frequently protected, nor are there any commitments agreed upon by all participating States to pledge the adoption of hate crime laws that should include their protection.
Therefore, Delegations or OSCE Institutions should refrain from affirmations or proposals regarding hate crime laws that are not based on OSCE commitments or international law.
7. Nevertheless, the Holy See is fully aware that intolerance and discrimination represent a sad daily reality for too many persons in the OSCE area. It should be recalled here that the Holy See has repeatedly and decisively condemned violence against people and every sign of unjust discrimination. The Catholic Church, at every moment of history and in an ever new way, is always being challenged by the message of love that the Founder left her. It is a love that sees only the man and the woman in need, and it does not allow itself to be disturbed by other considerations.
Such was the attitude of the Good Samaritan in the Gospel: he brought help to the wounded stranger, abandoned at the side of the road and ignored by passers-by. The Good Samaritan helped a fellow human being who was in need. This gospel parable is a powerful reminder that the dignity of the human person is the basis for all human rights. Through its participation in the OSCE and its presence here the Holy See seeks to affirm and defend the dignity of every human person.
Thank you Mr. Chairperson.
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