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European
Governments' "Official Indifference" to Antisemitism Masks and Compounds
the Rising Problem, Says New Human Rights First Report
NEW YORK - April 22 -- A new report by Human Rights First, Antisemitism
in Europe: Challenging Official Indifference, calls European
governments' response to rising antisemitism in the region "a pattern
of official indifference." This indifference, the report says, is
marked by many governments' inadequate reporting of anti-Jewish violence
and threats -- and their corresponding failure to enact and then enforce
laws aimed at stopping anti-Jewish attacks.
Read
the full report
"Governments cannot address crimes they do not record or report,"
said Michael Posner, the Executive Director of Human Rights First.
"The combination of inadequate data collection and gaps in law enforcement
create a climate where further acts of antisemitic violence are inevitable."
The findings and recommendations of the report, released today in
New York, will be presented on April 28 at a meeting on European antisemitism
hosted by the Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
Last week, Secretary of State Colin Powell announced he would represent
the U.S. government at the OSCE meeting, a move Human Rights First
welcomes. In light of its report's findings of "official indifference"
in Europe, Human Rights First believes the Secretary's presence will
strengthen the level of government participation at the meeting and
its potential to yield meaningful commitments. Read
Human Rights First's letter to Secretary Powell.
Antisemitism
in Europe: Challenging Official Indifference documents
a range of violent antisemitic incidents in Europe over the past two
years and outlines what European institutions and governments have
done to monitor, record and report on those incidents. The report
updates a 2002 report by Human Rights First called Fire
and Broken Glass: The Rise of Antisemitism in Europe.
The report outlines several positive steps taken since 2002 - citing
improved data collection and heightened attention to antisemitic violence
by France, Germany, and other governments, as well as intergovernmental
bodies such as the European Union and the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
Yet, overall, despite some increased attention by European institutions
and some governments, the report found high levels of anti-Jewish
threats and violence continued across Europe, and that the pattern
of attacks and violence remains unchanged. The problem of data collection
and monitoring about the attacks by European governments also remains
largely unchanged, the report says.
Human Rights First continues to be concerned that the majority of
European governments do not collect and disseminate information in
a timely, useful way or have serious problems with record-keeping
practices and systems of redress. Austria, Belgium, Greece, Spain,
Ireland, Luxembourg, Italy, Portugal and Finland conduct no systematic
monitoring of antisemitism at all. In Denmark, police record racist
crimes but do not disaggregate by category so that antisemitic crimes
remain largely invisible in official statistics.
Country by country information is set out in a separate section of
the report and indicators of progress through monitoring, reporting,
and criminal justice measures are summarized in three detailed charts.
View the chart
tracking country by country data collection.
"Timely, accurate and public information on racist violence is an
essential first step in developing effective action to suppress it,"
said Michael McClintock, the Director of Program at Human Rights First
and the report's co-author. "Better documentation alone, however,
will accomplish little if governmental authorities do not strengthen
their laws barring such crimes and investigate and prosecute those
who are responsible."
The report calls on European governments to improve their reporting
on anti-Semitic crimes, specifically recommending that governments
publish regular public reports on the incidence of racially motivated
crimes, with disaggregated data distinguishing the particular group
affected.
Human Rights First also makes specific recommendations on how governments
can do more to ensure that laws covering antisemitic violence and
other hate crimes are enacted or adequately enforced. Human Rights
First calls for measures that include making racist motivation an
aggravating circumstance in criminal prosecutions, strengthening legislation
punishing hate crimes, and providing adequate resources and directives
to law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute crimes motivated
by antisemitism and other hate crimes.
The report explores new dimensions of antisemitism in Europe through
the lens of international human rights standards, with a view to practical
measures of prevention and redress. "Antisemitism is a particularly
pernicious form of racism and religious intolerance, and requires
concerted action by governments and civil society alike," said McClintock.
"Government failure to fight racism is both bad policy and a violation
of international treaty obligations."
Challenging Official Indifference, full report, is available at:
http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/pubs/antisemitism/antisemitism_europe.htm
Human Rights First's testimony to the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign
Relations hearing on antisemitism: http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/pubs/antisemitism/AntiSem_test_final41204.pdf
Fire and Broken Glass: The Rise of Antisemitism in Europe (Human Rights
First, 2002) :
http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/pubs/antisemitism/antisemitism.htm
Article in the Forward about Human Rights First's efforts to
urge Secretary Powell to attend the OSCE Conference:
http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/pubs/antisemitism/antisem_5.htm |
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