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The UN Human Rights Council adopted Resolution 21/33, “From rhetoric to reality: a global call for concrete action against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance”, which calls on states to “consider adopting effective measures to combat criminal acts motivated by racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance [...] (and to) take measures so that motivations are considered an aggravating factor for the purpose of sentencing.”

The report on the implementation of General Assembly resolution 66/143 by Mutuama Ruterre, the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, emphasized that states should ensure that there is a criminal law that provides for aggravating circumstances for bias-motivated crime; that such crimes are adequately investigated and prosecuted to avoid impunity; that comprehensive data are collected on hate crimes; and that law-enforcement agents and members of the judiciary are trained to investigate and prosecute hate crimes, as well as to engage with affected communities to increase their willingness to report such crimes.

The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly issued a Resolution Addressing Racism and Xenophobia Affecting People of African Decent in the OSCE Region, reaffirming OSCE commitments to combat racism and hate crimes and encouraging implementation of recommendations from an OSCE/ODIHR roundtable event.

The UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 65/249, which addressed states’ responsibility to address hate crimes, noting the need to adopt effective measures to combat criminal acts motivated by racism, xenophobia and related intolerance, including adopting measures to ensure that such motivations are considered as aggravating circumstances for sentencing purposes.

In April, ODIHR convened a Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting on Combating Racism, Intolerance and Discrimination in Society through Sport. In October in Warsaw, ODIHR organized a training seminar for 22 civil society representatives of African descent from Austria, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Malta, Moldova, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United States, which covered hate crime reporting.

The OSCE Chairmanship’s Personal Representative on Combating Racism, Xenophobia and Discrimination, also Focusing on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians and Members of Other Religions, Judge Catherine McGuinness, made a number of country visits together with the other Personal Representatives of the Chairmanship, travelling to Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan and Norway. During these visits she emphasized the importance of improving the collection of accurate data on hate crimes.

ODIHR and the European Network of Independent Living co-organized a training seminar for people with disabilities in Dublin in May, which was attended by 25 participants from Armenia, Belarus, Bulgaria, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. A second seminar was held in Oslo for participants from the Nordic region in 2012, and 20 participants attended. The seminars raised awareness about disability hate crime and focused on strategies for recognizing and monitoring disability hate incidents.

The report of Heiner Bielefeldt, the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, noted the symbolic significance of acts of vandalism and desecration against places of worship, cemeteries and religious monuments towards entire religious communities, which can, in turn, trigger violence, such as expulsions or other extreme hostility. The report also encouraged states to develop policies that promote the protection of persons belonging to religious minorities from violence, threats of violence and damage to religious property, and to ensure there is no impunity for such conduct.

In June, ODIHR organized a seminar on the Role of Civil Society in Combating Hate Crimes against Christians, hosted by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

Judge Catherine McGuinness, the OSCE Chairmanship’s Personal Representative on Combating Racism, Xenophobia and Discrimination, also focusing on Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians and Members of Other Religions, made a number of country visits, together with the other personal representatives, to Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan and Norway. During these visits she emphasized the importance of improving the collection and accuracy of data on hate crimes.

ODIHR conducted several training courses related to hate crimes against Muslims, including a two-day workshop in Madrid in May for NGOs on dealing with intolerance against Muslims in Spain; a one-day workshop for imams from across Bulgaria, held in Sofia in September; and a two-day workshop for NGOs dealing with intolerance against Muslims in Austria, Germany and Switzerland, convened in Berlin, in November.

Adil Akhmetov, the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office on Combating Intolerance and Discrimination against Muslims, visited Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan and Norway together with the other personal representatives. During these visits, he underlined the importance of the fight against Islamophobia and the need to improve the collection of data on hate crimes against Muslims.

In December, in Warsaw, ODIHR gathered representatives of Jewish community organizations and other NGOs dealing with anti-Semitism to discuss anti-Semitic hate crimes and present good practices on collecting data on such crimes.

Rabbi Andrew Baker, the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson in-Office on Anti-Semitism, visited Hungary and Spain, and also participated in joint country visits with the other personal representatives to Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan and Norway. He highlighted the issue of anti-Semitic hate crimes, the importance of providing security to Jewish organizations that are at risk of being targets of hate crimes, and the need to tackle anti-Semitic discourse effectively.

As part of the Best Practices for Roma Integration (BPRI) project in the Western Balkans, ODIHR conducted two regional training seminars for 36 Roma representatives in Sarajevo on preventing and responding to hate crimes against Roma.

ODIHR continued to promote the improvement of relations between police and Roma and Sinti communities, presenting its manual on building trust between police and Roma in Slovakia. 

The EU adopted Directive 2012/29/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of all victims of crime. The Directive contains provisions that specifically recognize the needs of victims of hate crimes.