Anti-LGBTI hate crime

In her "Third Quarterly Activity Report", the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe urged the government of Armenia to take a firm stance in combating incidents of hate crime against LGBT people.

In its fifth report on Croatia, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) observed that many cases of hate crime, especially those targeting Serbs, LGBT people and Roma, are only classified as misdemeanours. ECRI recommended that the bias motive be incorporated from the very beginning in investigations and training for police officers and judicial officials.

In its "Fifth report on Moldova", the Council of Europe's European Commission against Racism and Intolerance recommended that the authorities put in place a system to record hate crimes, collect and publish hate crime data, and ensure that hate crimes are effectively investigated. To these ends, ECRI recommended that the authorities increase its training efforts for police officers and justice officials, and implement confidence-building measures to enhance the relationship between the police and vulnerable groups, in particular, the Roma and the LGBT community.

In its "Resolution on the 2018 Commission Report on the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia", the European Parliament urged the authorities to effectively address hate crime against minorities, in particular, the Roma and the LGBT communities, and to ensure the effective protection of affected communities and dissuasive sanctions for these hate crimes.

In the proceeds from the "Fifth meeting of the EU-Serbia Stabilisation and Association Council", the European Union noted with concern that the investigation, prosecution and penalties for hate crimes against LGBT people are often inadequate and encouraged Serbia to ensure adequate prosecution of all hate crimes.

In her "1st Quarterly Activity Report", the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe noted a lack of progress in efficiently investigating and punishing perpetrators of hate crimes against LGBT people. The Commissioner urged the authorities to effectively combat hate crime.