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UNCLAS STATE 017287 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM OSCE
SUBJECT: OSCE PERMANENT COUNCIL: STATEMENT ON TOLERANCE 
 
¶1.  Post is authorized to present the following statement at 
the February 25 Permanent Council meeting in Vienna. 
 
Begin text: 
 
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 
 
The Chairmanship has declared tolerance to be one of its 
Human Dimension priorities this year.  We welcome that, and 
take the floor today to consider how the OSCE might lay the 
foundation for an ambitious, long-term effort to combat 
intolerance and discrimination across the region. 
 
The United States attaches great importance to the OSCE's 
work on confronting the roots of intolerance, strengthening 
respect for individual human rights, and promoting an 
environment free of persecution or prejudice.  We strongly 
believe that a comprehensive, lasting solution to underlying 
problems of intolerance cannot stop at fostering inter-faith 
and inter-cultural dialogue.  It must also be based on 
national legal guarantees of equal rights for all citizens, 
including fundamental freedoms of expression, association and 
religion, the effective integration of diverse ethnic and 
religious populations, and the protection of individuals 
against violent manifestations of intolerance. 
 
Awareness is crucial in creating the momentum for building 
societies where differences are not only tolerated, but also 
respected, and ultimately embraced and celebrated.  A 
relevant illustration for our region concerns the Roma, as 
insufficient teaching about Romani experiences and 
achievements has hindered a genuine change of attitude 
towards Roma in many OSCE countries.  Through education and 
government advocacy, we must strive to resist persistent 
stereotypes and ignorance, which all too often lead to acts 
of discrimination and violence. 
 
Governments also need to ensure equal access to education, 
employment, voting and other public services and to promote 
vigorous enforcement of civil rights laws.  In many 
participating States, equal access to education, civil rights 
and public services remains problematic.  Nor has my own 
country been immune to this phenomenon, having long struggled 
to overcome a devastating legacy of unfair treatment toward a 
number of ethnic and racial groups. 
 
We have repeatedly expressed our concern about a rise in the 
number of hate crimes in the OSCE area and stressed the value 
of collecting hate crime statistics and increasing training 
of law enforcement and judicial officials on hate crime 
legislation.  As a matter of policy, the United States 
believes that bias or hate crimes pose a significant threat 
to the full participation of all citizens in a democratic 
society.  By law, we are committed to ensuring the civil 
rights and human rights of all people and to protecting their 
safety from violent attacks based on their real or perceived 
attributes, including race, religion, ethnicity, nationality, 
disability, sexual orientation, gender, or gender identity. 
 
Civil society plays an important role in the prevention of 
hate crimes, including in community outreach and education, 
informing targeted communities of their rights and victim 
assistance, and must be allowed to do so.  While civil 
society can work to educate and inform citizens about their 
rights, only through government action can discrimination and 
violent acts of intolerance be fully rectified. 
 
Government can and should take an active role in promoting 
tolerance and respect for diversity.  This role is not in 
tension with the government's role as guarantor of individual 
rights and freedoms, including freedom of speech.  OSCE 
states differ on the extent to which we permit hate speech in 
the media, on the internet or in public discourse.  In the 
U.S., NGOs actively counter intolerance and hateful 
expression.  Furthermore, we believe a free media works best 
to promote respect for diversity, democracy, equality and 
fundamental freedoms, as it serves as a marketplace where 
more enlightened ideas can prevail over shortsighted or 
biased ones. 
 
While we as participating States have repeatedly stated in 
our common commitments our resolve to combat intolerance, 
discrimination, and hate crimes, we need to do a better job 
of putting those words into action.  Troubling trends include 
police raids and arrests for peaceful religious activity; 
religious groups facing difficulties in registration, 
governments putting restrictions on places of worship, 
religious attire, the use of minority languages, or peaceful 
cultural expression, and actions by political leadership that 
exploit ethnic tensions or reiterate unhelpful stereotypes. 
 
The U.S. believes that the ODIHR with its excellent programs 
is the right home within the OSCE for promoting tolerance. 
We also strongly support the activities of the three Personal 
Representatives to help spur political will and spread best 
practices for combating three distinct forms of intolerance 
in the OSCE.  But these efforts must be accompanied by the 
political will of participating States to implement their 
commitments. 
 
The establishment of a society void of racism, xenophobia or 
other forms of intolerance and discrimination must be a goal, 
however lofty, to which we continue to strive.  This process 
is intrinsically linked to that of the establishment of a 
nation grounded in the democratic principles of liberty, 
justice, and freedom.  It requires political action, legal 
developments and social transitions.  To paraphrase civil 
rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., we must dream of 
nations in which our children would be judged not by the 
color of their skin, or any similar physical aspect, but by 
the content of their character. 
 
In that vein, the United States hopes that the goodwill and 
interest harnessed by the chairmanship to hold a high level 
tolerance conference will be a springboard to generate 
political will and fruitful follow-up for years to come. 
 
Thank you. 
 
END TEXT 
CLINTON