November 16, 2023
To tackle hate crime and support victims, hate crimes must be prosecuted as such, OSCE human rights office says
“Making the bias motivation behind all hate crimes visible and ensuring they are prosecuted correctly is essential to protect the rights of victims and at the same time ensure effective policies to prevent and address hate crime,” said the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) on launching its annual hate crime report ahead of the International Day for Tolerance.
You can access the 2023 data here
48 OSCE states reported hate crime data for this year’s update, while civil society from across the OSCE region reported close to 10,000 cases. The report indicates that many gaps remain in the prosecution of hate crimes; incomplete or inadequate legislation is a major obstacle for prosecutors, meaning some hate crimes are not investigated as such or are incorrectly prosecuted as “hate speech” offences.
To help close these gaps, ODIHR has published a practical guide entitled Hate Crime Prosecution at the Intersection of Hate Crime and Criminalized “Hate Speech”, which draws on laws and practice from across the OSCE region.
More information on the Office’s resources to address hate crime is available here.