Hate crime against Christians and members of other religions

Hate crime targeting individuals on the basis of religion can take various forms. The extent and nature of attacks motivated by bias against a particular religion are influenced by a number of factors, including the minority or majority status of that religion in a given territory. Successive ODIHR hate crime reports have indicated that graffiti and vandalism against places of worship, the desecration of cemeteries and arson attacks against churches are some of the more common types of crimes motivated by bias against Christians and members of other religions.

Beginning in 2004, a number of OSCE ministerial council decisions and declarations have included specific commitments on and references to the importance of combating prejudice, intolerance and discrimination against Christians and members of other religions.
Some participating States disaggregate data on anti-religious hate crime into sub-categories, such as "non-denominational", "Catholic", "Protestant", "other religions", or "Jehovah's witnesses". The Holy See also collects information on hate incidents based on bias against Christians through its network of regional representatives. This information is submitted by ODIHR to authorities in the respective participating States for verification and information on the status of investigation and of hate motive.
OSCE participating States collect varying types of information, which is then reported and presented under the heading of this bias motivation. For some states, the number of cases reported here may cover all hate crimes committed with an anti-religious bias (including anti-Semitic or anti-Muslim). In other cases, anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim hate crimes are reported under specific bias categories and, thus not included in the overall figure for crimes committed with an anti-religious bias. Some participating States report only crimes committed against Christians. As a consequence of these differences, the data presented under this bias category require caution, as comparison based on numbers of cases alone may not be accurate.
For these reasons, this category of hate crimes has been used until 2016, when ODIHR further disaggregated its reporting. From this year on, Anti-Christian Hate Crime and Other Hate Crime Based on Religion or Belief are presented as separate categories.

ODIHR TANDIS

Reports

Overview of incidents reported by civil society

Attacks Against People Attacks Against Property Total
Violent Attacks Threats
169 56 279 504

International Reports

OSCE Region

In his "Report on combating intolerance, negative stereotyping, stigmatization, discrimination, incitement to violence and violence against persons, based on religion or belief," the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights noted that extremism and radicalization, often leading to hate crimes and violence, need to be addressed. This can be done through police and security responses, community engagement, and data gathering and monitoring, among other actions.

The United Nations General Assembly (GA) adopted resolution 68/127 on combating violence and violent extremism, condemning all forms of violent extremism and underlining the importance of civil society in generating public awareness to the dangers of extreme violence. It recommends promoting community engagement in countering violent extremism.

The United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) adopted resolution 25/12 on freedom of religion or belief, condemning violence and acts of terrorism targeting people belonging to religious minorities and emphasizing that States should diligently prevent, investigate and punish such acts.

The United Nations General Assembly (GA) adopted resolution 68/170 on freedom of religion or belief, condemning violence based on religion or belief and reminding States of their obligation to diligently prevent, investigate and punish acts of violence against people belonging to religious minorities.

In resolution 68/169 on "Combating intolerance, negative stereotyping, stigmatization, discrimination, incitement to violence and violence against persons, based on religion or belief," the United Nations General Assembly (GA) expressed concern that the number of incidents of religious intolerance, discrimination and related violence continues to rise around the world. The resolution also called for interreligious, interfaith and intercultural dialogue at the local, national, regional and international levels.