Naujienos

Excellencies,
Distinguished participants,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

On behalf of the Chairperson-in-Office, Foreign Minister Audronius Ažubalis, it is my pleasure to extend a warm welcome to today’s OSCE Chairmanship-ODIHR Conference on Countering Intolerance and Discrimination against Muslims in Public Discourse.

This Conference is the third this year addressing hatred, stereotyping, bigotry, as well as action motivated by religious bias and intolerance.

The Prague Conference in March 2011 was devoted to anti-Semitism in public discourse while the Rome Conference in September 2011 was designed to address hate crimes against Christians. Today’s discussions, aimed at countering Anti-Muslim discourse, reflect the Chairmanship’s conviction that constant efforts are required in order to combat racism, xenophobia and other forms of intolerance and to build mutual understanding and respect for diversity.

We need to create a continuing process of open reflection, enact necessary laws, develop sustainable educational programmes and conduct constant public awareness building, so that this heinous form of human rights violation is eradicated.

These conferences are based on a forward-looking approach, seeking to elaborate concrete and practical recommendations. Implementation of these recommendations will require the work of all stakeholders, including government officials, civil society, educational institutions, the media and political representatives. It is only possible to overcome intolerance and discrimination when all key actors engage and pool their efforts. 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Intolerance and discrimination against Muslims is a complex phenomenon, which often manifests itself in combination with racism, xenophobia and anti-immigrant sentiments Acts of intolerance and discrimination against Muslims are fuelled by a range of stereotypes and prejudices. These include, but are not limited to:
- ancient hatreds and prejudices;
- identification of terrorism and violence with Islam;
- anti-immigrant sentiments;
- chauvinist attitudes toward national minorities with Muslim backgrounds;
- conspiracy theories, such as the “clash of civilizations,” which spread the fear of Muslims;
- biased rhetoric charging that Islam itself as incompatible with human rights and democracy.

  

Although anti-Muslim prejudices are centuries old, it has recently taken new forms. In spite of some tangible progress achieved in fostering interfaith understanding and tolerance, there is still a lack of understanding of the scope of this problem. This is why events such as this one, which seek to address intolerance and discrimination against Muslims in public discourse, are so important.

OSCE participating States have acknowledged the leading role political leaders can play by defusing tensions between groups and condemning violent manifestations of intolerance. While acknowledging the importance of freedom of expression, OSCE participating States have also stressed the role media can play in combating stereotypes. Unfortunately, we have seen too little leadership from the political sphere and from the media when Muslims were subject to assaults. Even worse, we have witnessed that some media and some political parties use anti-Muslim rhetoric with a view to selling more papers, gaining more attention or attracting more votes. We should discuss these challenges openly and in a constructive way.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In this conference, we will have the opportunity to take a look at three aspects of anti-Muslim discourse:
- manifestations of intolerance and discrimination against Muslims in the media and political discourse;
- the impact of such manifestations on society in general and the Muslim community in particular; and
- effective ways to counter anti-Muslim public discourse, with the view of promoting mutual understanding and respect, in our increasingly diverse societies.

The meeting provides a forum for representatives of the participating States and other intergovernmental agencies and the media, as well as other political and civil society actors to debate the most pressing issues concerning intolerant and discriminatory public discourse against Muslims. In particular, how can we identify manifestations of intolerance and discrimination in the media and in political speech? What is the link between hate speech and acts of discrimination and violence against certain groups? What is the impact of new media on disseminating anti-Muslim hatred, hostility and bigotry? How can states prevent and respond to anti-Muslim statements without infringing on the right to freedom of expression? And how can ODIHR support the efforts of political representatives and media professionals to counter ant-Muslim public discourse?

Watching how political actors and societies at large have responded to events such as the “Ground Zero Mosque” debate in the USA, the referendum in Switzerland on the prohibition on building minarets, and the heinous massacres in Norway, provides us with significant food for thought as we seek a deeper understanding of this phenomenon.

I would like to thank the three Personal Representatives of the Chairperson in Office on Tolerance and Non-Discrimination issues amb. Adil Akhmetov, Rabbi Andrew Baker and Massimo Introvigne, whose efforts to promote tolerance are appreciated very much by the Lithuanian OSCE Chairmanship.

Let me thank the able ODIHR team, led by ambassador Lenarčič for helping the chairmanship to organize this conference.

 
Let me also extend our sincere thanks the governments of the United States, Turkey and Austria for providing the funding and support which made this conference possible

I wish you all productive discussions and a successful conference.