Racist and xenophobic hate crime

In its fifth report on Andorra, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) strongly recommended that the authorities strengthen their ability to collect data on racist, homophobic and transphobic hate crime.

In its "Concluding observations on the combined seventh to eleventh periodic reports of Armenia," the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) recommended the introduction of a separate definition of hate crime, and its prohibition in Armenian criminal law.

In its "Resolution on the implementation of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities", the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers recommended that Austria combat hate crime more effectively through investigation and prosecution.

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) Committee in its "Concluding observations on the combined twentieth to twenty-third periodic reports of Belarus" expressed concern that police, prosecutors and judges often do not examine bias motivation in crimes. The CERD Committee recommended that such motivation be consistently taken into consideration as an aggravating circumstance and that Belarus develop training programmes for criminal justice system officials on hate crimes.

In its third report on Bosnia and Herzegovina, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) recommended that bias motivation be made an aggravating circumstance at the state and entity levels where this is not yet the case. ECRI also recommended that the authorities expand training on hate crimes that would include violence against returnees, religious communities and LGBT people; and that the police duly investigate homophobic and transphobic incidents, while taking motivations into account.

In its "Concluding observations on the combined twelfth and thirteenth periodic reports of Bosnia and Herzegovina," the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) recommended that the local authorities ensure the appropriate implementation of existing hate crime provisions.​

In its "Concluding observations on the combined twentieth to twenty-second periodic reports of Bulgaria," the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) recommended the appointment of specialized hate crime prosecutors.

In the report on its mission to Canada, the United Nations Human Rights Council's Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent, observed that the prosecutors play a crucial role in requesting from judges that sentences be aggravated by racist motivation and therefore recommended improving the understanding of anti-Black racism among prosecutors and judges. 

In its concluding observation on periodic reports of Canada, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) expressed concern that racist hate crimes remain under-reported and that the racist hate crime is not tracked consistently across Canada's ten provinces. CERD also expressed concern at the increase in hate crimes targeting Muslims. CERD recommended that Canada facilitate reporting by victims, ensure the effective investigation of racist hate crimes and prosecute and sanction perpetrators. It recommended that Canada should also systematically track hate crimes across the criminal justice system, train law enforcement and judges on how to recognize and register hate crimes and address the reasons for the increase in hate crime targeting Muslims.

In his report following a visit to Croatia, the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe urged the authorities to improve the hate crime recording system and to systematically train law enforcement and legal professionals.

In its "Concluding observations on the combined twenty-third and twenty-fourth periodic reports of Cyprus," the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) recommended that local authorities enforce legislative provisions to prosecute perpetrators of hate crimes to deter further crimes and prevent impunity of perpetrators. CERD also recommended raising awareness of available complaint mechanisms, and to continue training law enforcement officers on the investigation of hate crimes.

In its fifth report on Denmark, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) recommended continuous hate crime training for police officers and prosecutors, in co-operation with ODIHR and affected communities. ECRI also recommended that a new system be introduced to track hate crimes throughout the judicial process.

In its report, the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Estonia recommended the strengthening of hate crime provisions to make sure that bias motivation is considered an aggravating factor in any crime.

In its report, the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) for Finland, recommended that the authorities take measures to reduce the number of anti-religious hate crimes, ensure that hate crimes are effectively investigated and that law enforcement, security and judicial authorities be trained and have guidelines to address hate crimes against immigrants, asylum seekers and refugees.

In observations published following a visit to Georgia, the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe recommended that bias motive be consistently taken into account as an aggravating circumstance and that hate crimes receive punishment commensurate with the gravity of the offence.

In the report on its mission to Germany, the United Nations Human Rights Council's Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent expressed concerns over the state's failure to protect people of African descent from hate crimes. The working group recommended the adoption of a comprehensive training strategy for police officers to end the racial profiling of people of African descent and specialized training for prosecutors and judges on identifying hate crimes.

In a letter to the Ministries of Interior and Justice following his visit to Greece, the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe stressed the need to enhance the implementation of hate crime laws and to collect and analyze hate crime data more systematically.

The meeting of the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers – Ministers' Deputies at its 1302^nd session welcomed the adoption of new Greek hate crime legislation and encouraged the examination of racist motivation in the early stages of criminal proceedings, and invited the authorities to provide comparison between the numbers of reported, prosecuted and adjudicated hate crimes.

In its fifth report on Iceland, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) noted the appointment of a specialized police officer responsible for working on hate crimes.

In its "Concluding observations on the combined nineteenth and twentieth periodic reports of Italy," the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) recommended the investigation, prosecution and punishment of all perpetrators of hate crimes. CERD also recommended that local authorities collect data systematically, increase the reporting of hate crimes and strengthen the hate crime provisions to also cover mixed motivations.

In its report, the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Latvia recommended the strengthening of the hate crime provisions in criminal law and that the authorities organize training on hate crimes for police and judicial officials.

In his report following a visit to Latvia, the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe urged the authorities to build the capacity of police, prosecutors and judges to effectively investigate, prosecute and punish all hate crimes.

In its fifth report on Luxembourg, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) strongly recommended that bias motivation be made an aggravating circumstance for any ordinary offence. ECRI also recommended that the police and judicial authorities establish and use a system for recording and monitoring hate crimes.

In its "Concluding observations on the combined tenth and eleventh periodic reports of Moldova," the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) expressed concern about the lack of hate crime legislation and recommended that  the investigation and prosecution of all hate crimes is ensured, as well as that date are provided on the numbers of cases.

In its fifth report on Montenegro, the Council of Europe's European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) commended the improved protection of Roma people against hate crime but observed that LGBT people remain at high risk of being targeted. ECRI recommended that the authorities introduce a coherent system for recording hate crimes and collecting data and that they scale-up the training of criminal justice personnel and ensure that this training specifically addresses the identification of hate crimes. ECRI also recommended that the authorities provide clear instructions to the police about how to investigate hate crimes.

In its report, the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) for the Netherlands, recommended that the criminal code be amended to include an aggravating circumstance provision specifically addressing hate crimes; and strengthen the prosecution of hate crimes motivated by bias against LGBT people.

In the framework of Universal Periodic Review (UPR), the United Nations Human Rights Committee expressed concern that Poland's criminal code did not include disability, age, sexual orientation and gender identity as bias motivations for hate crimes. The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) recommended that Poland amend its criminal code to make any racial motivation for a crime an aggravating circumstance.

In its report, the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) for Poland, recommended that the criminal code be amended to include sexual orientation, gender identity and disability among the protected characteristics listed in its hate crime provisions.

In its "Concluding observations on the fourth report of Poland," the United Nations Human Rights Committee recommended that the authorities should amend the Criminal Code to make bias motivation an aggravating circumstance for any crime, and to thoroughly investigate, prosecute and punish perpetrators of hate crimes.

In its concluding observation on periodic reports of the Russian Federation, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) recommended that the Russian authorities concentrate their efforts on responding seriously to racist attacks carried out by ultra-nationalists, neo-Nazi groups and Cossack patrols. CERD also recommended that the authorities ensure adequate punishment for perpetrators of hate crimes and develop training courses for criminal justice agencies on hate crime identification, investigation and prosecution.

In its third report on Serbia, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) recommended the designation and specialized training of contact points within the police and prosecution services across the country for vulnerable groups; the establishment of a hate crime data recording and collection system; and prompt investigation, prosecution and sentencing in hate crime cases. ECRI further recommended that prosecutors make explicit reference to the aggravating circumstance provision in indictments, when relevant.

The EU encouraged Serbia to ensure adequate prosecution of hate crimes during the fourth meeting of the EU-Serbia Stabilisation and Association Council.

In its "Concluding observations on the fourth report of Slovakia," the United Nations Human Rights Committee recommended preventive measures to counter racist attacks and to ensure the thorough investigation and prosecution of alleged perpetrators.

In its "Concluding observations on the combined twenty-second and twenty-third periodic reports of Sweden," the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) recommended that Sweden develop a clear strategy to ensure better scrutiny of the way police and prosecutors deal with hate crimes.

In its fifth report on Ukraine, the Council of Europe's European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) commended Ukraine's progress in investigating hate crimes and introducing specialized police officers. ECRI also noted the need to step up efforts to end racist violence against LGBT and Roma people. ECRI recommended that an independent investigative body be set up to address allegations of racially-motivated misconduct by the police, and that protected characteristics should be added to all relevant hate crime provisions in the criminal code, particularly sexual orientation and gender identity.

In its report, the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) for the United Kingdom, recommended that the authorities efficiently implement the government's new "Hate Crime Action Plan" and monitor its implementation as a means of reviewing approaches by criminal justice agencies to increasing hate crime.