2007 programs and events

Concerted Effort Needed to Fight Intolerance and Discrimination

By Karen Stewart, U.S. Ambassador to Belarus

Why does the United States invest so much effort in promoting religious tolerance and fighting anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, and other forms of discrimination?  Because in our relatively short history, the United States itself has been home to its share of great injustices that have stained our history.  The burden of slavery and racial and religious bigotry continue to haunt us.
    
Though we have made great strides, many challenges still exist.  Subtle, and in some cases overt, forms of discrimination against minority individuals and groups continue to exist in American society.

Much of the progress made over the past half-century is due to the extensive constitutional and legislative framework that guarantees equal opportunity, and allows for the redress of grievances.  The same can be said of progress here in Europe, as our Euro-Atlantic community shares a common commitment to promoting tolerance and protecting human dignity.
 
This week in Bucharest, the OSCE is hosting a major multilateral conference on tolerance to renew our common focus and commitment on these key issues.  It is a privilege for us to participate in these important and necessary meetings that continue the critical work that was started in Vienna, Berlin and Cordoba in 2003, 2004 and 2005.
 
This is an in valuable venue for addressing the issues of anti-Semitism and intolerance against Muslims, Christians and members of other religions in the Euro-Atlantic area.
 
It is important to remember that anti-Semitism is not just a crime against the Jewish people; it is a threat to all. History has shown that Jews have all too often been but the first group to be targeted. Violence that can begin against Jews does not end with them.  Violence grows and spreads to other groups. Anti-Semitism must be understood fundamentally as a human rights issue and even a security issue.  In this latter category we must include the President of Iran’s continued denial that the Holocaust ever occurred, and his repeated calls for “wiping Israel off the map.” Throughout history, violence against Jews left unchallenged has led to catastrophe.

The United States places great importance on combating anti-Semitism around the world.  The appointments of Gregg Rickman, the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat anti-Semitism and Christian Kennedy, the Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues, send the clear message that the President and Secretary of State are committed to fighting anti-Semitism worldwide and are dedicated to supporting international organizations like the International Task Force on Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research and the OSCE.  They are invaluable tools to fight against anti-Semitism and to teach tolerance and understanding for the next generation.

Along with a focus on anti-Semitism, the Bucharest meeting will examine discrimination against Muslims, Christians and other faiths, a rising problem in many OSCE participating states.  It is imperative that Muslims in the OSCE region not be marginalized by their governments or society-at-large nor stereotyped as terrorists and criminals.  Unfortunately, there are too many cases of harassment, arrest, torture and imprisonment of Muslims due to their Islamic beliefs, religious practices or affiliations within the Euro-Atlantic area. 
It is crucial for OSCE States to maintain their commitment to religious freedom as a fundamental human right, and to ensure that all groups are able to practice their faiths freely, alone, or in community with others, through non-discriminatory laws, regulations, policies and practices.

The great majority of people around the world, people of all nationalities and faiths, seek to live in a world characterized by peace and dignity for all humanity, a world where each individual is respected regardless of the color of his or her skin, the country he or she comes from, or his or her religious practice.  This vision of tolerance is in stark contrast to those violent extremists who seek to promote intolerance and hatred for their own objectives.

Another important contribution that OSCE participating States can make to peace and stability in the world is to deal successfully with issues related to the minority populations that are citizens or residents of our respective states.  All OSCE states have significant minority groups within their borders, minorities that have resulted from the migration of people going back hundreds or even thousands of years, from the disruptions caused by conflicts, from peaceful border changes, and from more positive developments such as the freer flow of labor under the European Union.
 
In the 1990 Copenhagen Document, the OSCE participating States broke new ground when we recognized, in the context of  the fight against racial and ethnic hatred, the particular problems faced by Roma.  Since then, there has been extraordinary progress in combating discrimination against Roma, evidenced by the election of Roma representatives to the European Union Parliament, by the success of Romani plaintiffs before the European Court of Human Rights, and by the effective advocacy by Romani organizations across the OSCE region.

In spite of this progress, the fact remains that there is much more left to do. Roma routinely face blatant discrimination in many fields, including housing, education, and employment with the forcible eviction of Roma commonplace in some municipalities.  Large numbers of Roma remain vulnerable to displacement in the wake of conflicts and, in some places, continue to be the victims of deadly, racially motivated attacks.  Most significantly, as we have seen in recent months, some public leaders continue to engage in discourse that reinforces prejudice against Roma.  This simply must stop.

Success in implementation of OSCE commitments requires a coordinated and resolute effort on the part of governments, civil society, and members of all religious, ethnic and racial groups.  Only by doing this together in concert and reviewing and examining our actions – whether they be positive or regrettably negative, can we help reverse the destructive seeds of intolerance, discrimination and hatred that we face.