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28 APRIL 2022 | NEWSLETTER NO. 5
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ODIHR's Turning Words into Action to Address Intolerance (WiA) project contributes to making societies across the OSCE region more equal, inclusive, resilient and free from all forms of discrimination.
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The Words into Action to Address Intolerance project will be issuing newsletters every two months.
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Between January and April 2022, ODIHR’s Turning Words into Action to Address Intolerance (WiA) project continued to assist OSCE participating States in meeting their commitments in the field of tolerance and non-discrimination by providing government officials, parliamentarians, educators and civil society with the knowledge and skills to effectively respond to various forms and manifestations of intolerance, discrimination and marginalization.
In the security component, the WiA project continued the series of events on raising awareness and supporting effective communication efforts between national security institutions and the Jewish communities, this time in Estonia and in North Macedonia. Moreover, WiA continued to support the creation of the Working Group to facilitate inter-agency co-operation on addressing hate crimes in Cyprus.
Further, ODIHR translated its factsheet on Anti-Semitic Hate Crime into Lithuanian, Latvian, Macedonian and German to ensure that the resources reach varied stakeholders.
The WiA project continues to support civil society organizations, in particular in their coalition-building efforts. In March 2022, ODIHR organized a coalition-building training event in Cyprus. The workshop, based on ODIHR’s publication, Coalition Building for Tolerance and Non-Discrimination: A Practical Guide, offered a human rights-based approach and practical basis for building coalitions aimed at addressing discrimination and fostering more tolerant and peaceful societies.
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28 APRIL 2022 | NEWSLETTER NO. 5
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National Security Institutions and the Jewish Community: Raising Awareness and Building Effective Communication in Estonia and North Macedonia
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Participants at the meeting "Raising Awareness and Building Effective Communication between Law Enforcement Authorities and the Jewish Community in North Macedonia" in Skopje, North Macedonia,12 April 2022.
Photo credit: OSCE Mission to Skopje.
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Anti-Semitism threaten the values of free, democratic and inclusive societies and undermine societal stability and security throughout the OSCE region, including in the Member States of the European Union. Such acts include attacks or threats against people because of their actual or perceived Jewish identity, or targeting persons or property associated with Jewish people or communities.
In November 2018 in Skopje, ODIHR organized a regional awareness-raising conference on responding to anti-Semitic hate crimes and addressing the security needs of Jewish communities. In 2021, the WiA project initiated a series of meetings and events on building effective communication between national security institutions and the Jewish communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania and Serbia. Building on these efforts and in line with ODIHR’s mandate to “facilitate co-operation between governmental officials and civil society on issues related to anti-Semitism, including hate crime”,[1] ODIHR co-operated with partner organizations to continue its work in Estonia and North Macedonia.
The event in Estonia, held on 20 January, was organized in co-operation with the WJC and the EC Coordinator on combating Antisemitism and fostering Jewish life. The event in North Macedonia, held on 12 April, was organized with the World Jewish Congress, the European Commission Coordinator on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life, as well as the OSCE Mission to Skopje and the Holocaust Memorial Center for the Jews of Macedonia.
The series of events helps to strengthen understanding of the contemporary security challenges facing the Jewish community, including those stemming from anti-Semitic conspiracy theories or anti-Semitic bias, and facilitated effective and meaningful communication between representatives of the Jewish community and law enforcement officials.
[1] The OSCE’s 2014 Basel Ministerial Council Declaration
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More on the event in Estonia and in North Macedonia
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