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	Recording and monitoring incidents of hate crimes and discrimination by OSCE Office for Human Rights (ODIHR), agencies   Address by Astrid Thors, OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities to the OSCE Permanent Council in June 2016, highlights an increase in hate speech targeting national minorities.   ''I have observed increased hate speech targeting national minorities in several of the countries I have visited. Similar observations of increased hate speech have been noted, among others, by the Director of ODIHR and by the Council of Europe including the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) which in December last year issued a policy recommendation on combating hate speech.   The question of decreased tolerance and increase in hate speech is of utmost relevance for a High Commissioner on National Minorities. If left unaddressed, hate speech can lead to acts of violence and contribute to conflict of a wider scale. Preventing hate speech is conflict prevention.   A sign of weakness of our responses is the trend observed by many that hate speech is something used not only by the political extremes, but also the mainstream politicians seem to increasingly resort to it. Divisive rhetoric and the stigmatization of one ethnic community has become even more evident with the migration and refugee crisis. Some forms of hate speech also put different minority groups against each other or migrants against national minorities. Blaming minorities cannot replace addressing structural inequalities and racism and promoting integration with respect for diversity.   A new challenge for the work to combat hate speech and promote tolerance is the perception that the understanding of human rights and the concept of the rule of law have eroded. Even the independence of Parliamentary Ombudsmen or Public Defenders are put into question. My sincere plea is that all of us make renewed efforts: a refocus on education of the basic concepts of human rights and democratic values, a strong commitment by political leaders, elected and State officials to denounce public manifestations of intolerance and discrimination unequivocally and in a timely manner.   The support for civil society working to combat hate speech must be strengthened and public campaigns for human rights and tolerance must be given space in public broadcasting. A better coordination between the structures of OSCE is also needed''. http://bit.ly/2AT8sMy   http://bit.ly/2ANkkPA http://bit.ly/1dpJFKf http://bit.ly/IQCjpO http://bit.ly/2AOZxve   * The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) involves 57 participating States.   The fight against discrimination and hate towards minorities failing to deliver. (FRA)   Persisting widespread discrimination, intolerance and hatred across the EU threatens to marginalise and alienate many minority group members who otherwise feel largely attached to the country they live in and trust its institutions. These findings emerge from a major repeat survey by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA).   “Almost a decade ago we warned about the presence of large-scale ethnic discrimination and hatred. Today, these new results show that our laws and policies are inadequately protecting the people they are meant to serve,” says FRA Director Michael O’Flaherty.   “With every act of discrimination and hate, we erode social cohesion and create inequalities that blight generations fuelling the alienation that may ultimately have devastating consequences.”   The Second European Union Minorities and Discrimination Survey (EU-MIDIS II): main results report points to the need for specific and stronger measures to provide legal protection against discrimination coupled with effective sanctions.   In addition, since 88% of ethnic discrimination, 90% of hate-motivated harassment and 72% of hate-motivated violence were not reported, much stronger outreach is needed to encourage victims to come report incidents, while law enforcement and equality bodies need the right tools to deal with these reports effectively.   http://fra.europa.eu/en/press-release/2017/fight-against-discrimination-and-hate-towards-minorities-still-fails-deliver   Marking the International Day for Tolerance, ODIHR publishes hate crime data for 2016.   The 2016 data includes information on 44 participating States, including disaggregated official hate crime statistics for 18 countries and a detailed overview of how 34 participating States process and record hate crimes.   We changed how official data is presented and users can now download official data. This is complemented by hate incidents in 48 participating States as reported by 125 civil society groups, the UNHRC and OSCE field operations. Incident information can also be downloaded.   For the first time, incident data reported by these sources can be comprehensively searched, filtered and downloaded. This can be done by country, by bias motivation and by type of incident.   http://hatecrime.osce.org/2016-data   Dec. 2017   A pilot version of a platform for reporting and recording hate incidents, which is being developed by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), was presented and discussed with representatives of Polish and Hungarian civil society organizations during meetings in Warsaw and Budapest on 27 and 29 November 2017, respectively.   The platform is meant to support civil society organisations throughout the OSCE region in recording and monitoring incidents of hate crimes and discrimination. Victims and witnesses will be able to submit reports directly to a local civil society organization using an online form, and civil society organizations will be able to maintain a local database of reported cases.   Seven Polish NGO representatives attended the meeting in Warsaw and nine Hungarian NGO representatives took part in the Budapest event. Three of the NGOs represented are associated with local Jewish communities in the two countries.   After receiving an overview of ODIHR’s work on hate crimes, participants were briefed on the technical aspects of the platform, including an explanation of how to customize it to their needs.   The pilot phase will last for approximately three months. The participating NGOs will provide feedback on the platform’s design and functionality, which will be used to improve the tool. The platform is planned to be made available to a broad number of civil society organizations in spring 2018.   “Once fully operational, we hope that this new tool will enhance data collection on bias-motivated incidents across the OSCE region and provide an empirical basis for civil society to advocate for better prevention and response measures,” said James Stockstill, ODIHR Adviser on Civil Society Relations.   “Our meeting showed that there is a growing need for NGOs to collaborate with each other to counter hate crime,” said Anna Zielinska. “The platform ODIHR is developing will strengthen the ability of civil society organizations to address this phenomenon.” http://www.osce.org/odihr/359591 Visit the related web page
	Serb army commander Ratko Mladic convicted of genocide, crimes against humanity by ICTY, UN News, agencies International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, agencies   22 Nov. 2017   Statement of Serge Brammertz, Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in relation to the judgement in the case of Ratko Mladic.   Today, Ratko Mladic, the Commander of the Main Staff of the Bosnian Serb Army, was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for his crimes.   The Trial Chamber accepted our evidence that Mladic was a key participant in four joint criminal enterprises. He and other senior leaders intended to achieve their political and military aims by committing genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.   First, Mladic was convicted for commanding violent ethnic cleansing campaigns across Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1992 to 1995. The goal was to permanently remove Bosnian Croats and Muslims through widespread and systematic crimes. These ethnic cleansing campaigns included the murder of thousands of civilians.   Tens of thousands of others were detained in inhumane facilities, where many were beaten, raped, murdered. More than one million Bosnians were internally displaced or forced to seek refuge abroad.   Second, Mladic was convicted for commanding a campaign of crimes during the Siege of Sarajevo. The goal was to spread terror among Sarajevo’s civilian population. Widespread sniping and massive artillery bombardments – ordered and overseen by Mladic – were part of daily life during the siege, leaving more than 10,000 dead, including so many innocent children. It left the city in ruins.   Third, Mladic was convicted for the genocide in Srebrenica in 1995. The goal was to eliminate the Bosnian Muslims of Srebrenica. Mladic used the forces under his command to execute several thousand men and boys. He further used these forces to forcibly expel 25,000 terrified women, children and elderly from their homes.   Finally, Mladic was convicted for using forces under his command to take UN peacekeepers as hostages. The goal was to deter NATO from launching airstrikes. Hundreds of peacekeepers were seized, detained, assaulted and used as human shields.   In regard to Count 1 of the Indictment, the Trial Chamber found that our Office proved that crimes were committed by the perpetrators with the intent to destroy part of the Bosnian Muslim group in a number of locations. This is an important conclusion. However, the Trial Chamber did not enter a conviction for genocide. My Office will review the Trial Chamber’s reasoning on this issue closely. I would like to emphasize that the Trial Chamber found that these crimes constitute crimes against humanity and war crimes, and that Mladic bears responsibility for these crimes.   Some today will claim that this judgment is a verdict against the Serbian people. My Office rejects that claim in the strongest terms. Mladic’s guilt is his, and his alone. Others will say that Mladic is a hero and was defending his people. This judgment demonstrates that nothing could be further from the truth. Mladic will be remembered by history for the many communities and lives he destroyed.   The true heroes are the victims and survivors who never gave up on their quest for justice. They displayed real courage by coming to the Tribunal to tell the truth and confront the men who wronged them. On behalf of my Office, I would like to thank and recognize them.   My Office expresses its gratitude to the international community for supporting our work. We urge the United Nations and its Member States to continue supporting national prosecutors in the former Yugoslavia fighting for more justice for more victims. This work will not end with the closure of the Tribunal. Survivors from all communities are still waiting for justice. And too many families still do not know the fate of their loved ones.   Today’s judgment is a milestone in the Tribunal’s history, and international criminal justice. Ratko Mladic was one of the first persons indicted by my Office, and the last to be convicted. This judgment vindicates the Security Council’s vision twenty-four years ago: to secure peace through justice, by holding accountable the most senior leaders responsible for the crimes.   My Office would also like to thank you, representatives of the world’s media. You have an immense responsibility, to tell the public the truth of what happened. That is even more critical today, at a time when crimes are denied and war criminals glorified.   The Presiding Judge concluded the judgment by reminding us that Mladic’s crimes rank among the most heinous known to humankind, including genocide and extermination. I couldn’t agree more.   http://www.icty.org/en/press/statement-of-prosecutor-serge-brammertz-in-relation-to-the-judgement-in-the-case-prosecutor-vs http://bit.ly/2hWrkT1 http://bit.ly/2B2F1U0 http://tmsnrt.rs/2jhofcH http://bit.ly/2AopyRU http://bbc.in/2jdMzMo http://nyti.ms/2mUrA6G http://bit.ly/2mPAvpT http://www.hrw.org/news/2017/11/22/icty/bosnia-life-sentence-ratko-mladic http://bit.ly/2cRI07m http://bit.ly/2A4ovnm Visit the related web page
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