Our mandate: ODIHR’s work to address and report hate crime
Participating States of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) have acknowledged that hate crimes threaten our security, and can give rise to wider violence and even conflict. In response to this security challenge, they have committed to take comprehensive measures to address hate crime. These measures (known as “commitments”) serve to address hate crime through robust data collection and monitoring, an effective criminal justice response, co-operation with civil society, and comprehensive support to hate crime victims.
OSCE States’ commitments on addressing hate crime
OSCE participating States have committed to take a range of steps to address hate crime. These measures are based on decisions taken during high-level meetings, including Ministerial Council Decisions 9/09 on combating hate crime (Athens, 2 December 2009) and 13/06 on combating intolerance and discrimination and promoting mutual respect and understanding (Brussels, 5 December 2006).
In line with these decisions, participating States have committed to:
Report hate crime data to ODIHR:
- Report reliable information and statistics on hate crime to ODIHR.
- Nominate a National Point of Contact on hate crimes (NPC) responsible for submitting hate crime data to ODIHR.
Make hate crime data publicly accessible:
- Collect, maintain and publish detailed data and information on hate crime, including the number of hate crimes recorded by police, and the numbers of prosecuted and sentenced hate crimes.
Support victims and encourage them to report hate crimes:
- Take measures to encourage victims to report hate crimes, and facilitate civil society work to monitor hate crime.
- Co-operate with relevant actors to provide hate crime victims with effective access to justice, as well as counselling, legal and consular assistance.
Ensure an effective criminal justice response to hate crime:
- Promptly investigate hate crimes and ensure that the bias motive is acknowledged.
- Develop capacity-building programmes and guidelines for police, prosecutors and the judiciary on recording, investigating and prosecuting hate crimes; draw on ODIHR training programmes and resources in this area.
- Train front-line officers and develop outreach programmes to promote a sensitive approach to victims and improve relations between police and victimized communities.
Enact legislation to counter hate crime:
- Ensure that hate crime legislation provides for effective penalties that take into account the gravity of hate crimes.
- Acknowledge that hate crimes are criminal offences committed with a bias motive.
Work with civil society to address hate crime:
- Develop the capacity of civil society to monitor and report hate-motivated incidents and assist hate crime victims.
- Raise awareness of hate crime and hate crime reporting among communities and civil society groups that assist victims of hate crime.
Ensure a comprehensive approach to tackling hate crime:
- Develop effective partnerships, co-operation and dialogue, including through consultation mechanisms for State agencies and civil society groups.
ODIHR’s tasks to support States’ commitments
As the OSCE’s human rights institution, the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) assists States in implementing these commitments while supporting the efforts of civil society groups working to monitor and prevent hate crimes.
ODIHR’s Hate Crime Report – published on this website (https://hatecrime.osce.org) – is a cornerstone of this work, and serves as a collection point for information, statistics and legislation on hate crime. This website represents a significant step towards achieving the Office’s mandate in an accessible and transparent format. OSCE participating States have tasked ODIHR to undertake the following:
Serve as a collection point for information and statistics on hate crime collected by OSCE participating States.
Report and publish its findings through ODIHR’s Hate Crime Report and the Tolerance and Non-Discrimination Information System (TANDIS).
Co-operate closely with other intergovernmental agencies and civil society groups working to promote tolerance and address hate crime, including by collecting reports of hate crime.
Raise awareness of hate crime and identify trends, and provide recommendations and assistance to OSCE States to strengthen their hate crime response.
In line with its mandate to publish detailed data on hate crime, ODIHR provides information on the bias motivations underlying hate crimes reported by States and civil society groups. ODIHR is mandated to report hate crimes based on six bias-motivation categories: racist and xenophobic hate crime; anti-Roma hate crime; anti-Semitic hate crime; anti-Muslim hate crime; anti-Christian hate crime; other hate crime based on religion or belief. Furthermore, there are three categories of bias motivation that are most frequently reported to ODIHR, as recorded by participating States: gender-based hate crime; anti-LGBTI hate crime; and disability hate crime.
More information about the reporting process can be found here: Our Methodology