- OSCE High-Level Tolerance and Non-Discrimination Conference calls for sharing best practices, renewed focus on rights

ASTANA, 29 June 2010 - Sharing positive experiences and best practices in promoting tolerance and non-discrimination to effectively face threats to stability in the OSCE area is the focus of the High-Level Conference on Tolerance and Non-Discrimination that started in Astana today.

Nursultan Nazarbayev, the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, which is chairing the OSCE in 2010, stressed the urgent need to reinforce dialogue between cultures, civilizations and religions in his opening address: "As the OSCE Chairmanship, Kazakhstan intends to contribute to the promotion of ideas of tolerance, inter-ethnic peace and inter-confessional agreement in the OSCE area."

Nazarbayev emphasized the importance of examining and implementing best practices of promoting tolerance, including via OSCE field operations, and to take full account of the changing environment in the OSCE area. "The changes in language, migration, religious, cultural and education policy that we observe in the OSCE participating States have not been given proper thought at the collective level. We have to work together on summarizing the recent serious shifts in tolerance policy," he said. The President put forward an idea to create an OSCE Centre on tolerance and non-discrimination.

Speaking about the conflict in Kyrgyzstan, Nazarbayev stressed the complex ethnic composition of the Central Asian region. "The bitterest consequence of the conflict in Kyrgyzstan is that the seeds of mistrust can be sown between other peoples of the region. This represents a significant challenge to stability in the region and a threat to all OSCE participating States".

The aim of the two-day conference is to advance implementation of OSCE commitments related to promoting tolerance, non-discrimination and inter-cultural dialogue, which are key priorities of Kazakhstan’s OSCE Chairmanship. More than 600 participants will discuss the role of legislation, law enforcement, education systems and the media, including online media, in addressing public manifestations of intolerance and promoting understanding through open dialogue.

Janez Lenarcic, the Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights underlined the importance of human rights in fostering understanding between communities: "The provision of human rights is a precondition for notions of respect and mutual understanding to unfold their essence. To put it bluntly: it is not an achievement to ’tolerate’ members of our society who do not have the right to freely speak their mind or enjoy the panoply of other rights that should be available in a democratic society."

Knut Vollebaek, the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, said: "If we want to create and safeguard cohesive societies, tolerance has to be more than just acceptance of differences. We need to strive for positive tolerance founded on respect for each individual."

Dunja Mijatovic, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, emphasized that freedom of expression is a basic precondition for the development of multi-cultural and inter-ethnic societies, and that open debate which aims at promoting mutual understanding requires free media and independent journalists.

Other high-level speakers at the conference include Jorge Sampaio, the UN High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations; Mevlyut Cavusoglu, the President of the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly; Remigijus Shimashijus, Justice Minister of Lithuania, which will chair the OSCE in 2011, and other senior representatives of OSCE participating States and international organizations.

Previous OSCE conferences on tolerance and non-discrimination took place in Cordoba, Spain, in 2005, and in Brussels in 2004.

Direct link to the press release.

- OSCE media freedom representative express concern over ’chilling effect’ of libel damages awarded to Albanian politician

VIENNA, 29 June 2010 - The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatovic, expressed concern today over libel damages that a national broadcaster in Albania has been ordered to pay to a politician, saying the fine was disproportionately high.

In a letter to Albanian Foreign Minister Ilir Meta and Justice Minister Bujar Nishani, she emphasized that "moral damages awarded should be proportionate to the actual harm and the economic situation of the media or journalist concerned and should not lead to a ’chilling’ effect on the media".

On 18 June, the Tirana District Court ordered the TV station Top Channel to pay 400,000 euros in damages to former Culture Minister Ylli Pango for airing secretly filmed footage which allegedly showed the minister requesting favours in return for a ministry job and which subsequently led to his dismissal. The court argued that the footage had been obtained illegally and violated Pango’s right to privacy.

"The right to privacy has to be balanced against the media’s duty to inform citizens about developments which are in the public interest," Mijatovic said.

"The media’s watchdog role in any true democratic society demands investigative journalism, including the scrutiny of the professional and ethical conduct of government officials. The broadcaster’s reporting aimed exactly at that - it intended to shed light on the professional behavior of a public official and his alleged abuse of public positions."

Direct link to the press release.

- Council of Europe Secretary General to address OSCE Permanent Council

VIENNA, 29 June 2010 - The Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Thorbjorn Jagland, will address the OSCE Permanent Council on Thursday.

The Permanent Council is a main decision-making body of the 56-country OSCE. It meets weekly in Vienna to discuss developments in the OSCE area and to make appropriate decisions.

Journalists are invited to the speech, set to start at 10:00 on Thursday, 1 July, in the Hofburg Congress Centre’s Neuer Saal.

For admittance to the Hofburg Congress Centre, please bring your OSCE press badge or a valid press card to the security desk (main entrance from the Heldenplatz). Parking is available for the press during the event in the OSCE-reserved parking area on Heldenplatz. Temporary parking permits must be collected from the security desk.

Direct link to the press release.

- Council of Europe Secretary General to address OSCE Permanent Council on Thursday at 9:30

CORRECTION: an earlier version of the media advisory stated that the speech would start at 10:00. It will begin at 9:30.

VIENNA, 29 June 2010 - The Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Thorbjorn Jagland, will address the OSCE Permanent Council on Thursday.

The Permanent Council is a main decision-making body of the 56-country OSCE. It meets weekly in Vienna to discuss developments in the OSCE area and to make appropriate decisions.

Journalists are invited to the speech, set to start at 9:30 on Thursday, 1 July, in the Hofburg Congress Centre’s Neuer Saal.

For admittance to the Hofburg Congress Centre, please bring your OSCE press badge or a valid press card to the security desk (main entrance from the Heldenplatz). Parking is available for the press during the event in the OSCE-reserved parking area on Heldenplatz. Temporary parking permits must be collected from the security desk.

Direct link to the press release.

- Astana High-level Conference calls for implementation of commitments on tolerance and non-discrimination, increased co-operation with civil society

ASTANA, 30 June 2010 - The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, State Secretary and Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan Kanat Saudabayev, at the conclusion of the High-level OSCE Conference on Tolerance and Non-Discrimination today, expressed support for initiatives to strengthen dialogue and understanding, reaffirm respect for human rights and encouraged co-operation with civil society to prevent hate crimes and fight intolerance.

"Our conference clearly confirmed the commitment of Kazakhstan’s OSCE Chairmanship and the OSCE community as a whole to strengthening tolerance, inter-ethnic and inter-religious accord," Saudabayev said.

Reading from the provisions of the Astana Declaration resulting from the conference, Saudabayev added:

"The OSCE Chairmanship reaffirms that respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, democracy and the rule of law is important in creating a context for intercultural, inter-religious and inter-ethnic understanding, and is at the core of the OSCE comprehensive concept of security."

"Together with the OSCE participating States, we call for implementation of the OSCE commitments with a view to devising and implementing effective policy measures aimed at preventing and responding to manifestations of racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism, discrimination and intolerance, including against Christians, Muslims, members of other religions, Roma and Sinti, other ethnic and racial groups."

The Chairperson-in-Office emphasized that this could be done through legislation, law enforcement training, data collection and monitoring of hate crimes, education, media and constructive public discourse, as well as through the establishment of national institutions or specialized bodies.

He said OSCE participating States encouraged each other "to work with civil society in the prevention of hate crimes", and "to engage in co-operation with civil society and communities in inter-cultural, inter-religious and inter-ethnic partnerships".

He said also of importance is the proposal put forward by the Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev on 29 June to establish an OSCE Centre for Tolerance and Non-discrimination.

The two-day High-Level Conference on Tolerance and Co-operation gathered around 600 participants from OSCE participating States, OSCE institutions and international and non-governmental organizations.

Direct link to the press release.