Conference on intolerance and discrimination against Muslims was held in Vienna

The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) held a conference on “Methods to respond to intolerance and discrimination against Muslims”. It took place on 18^th of October, 2017 in Vienna and was organized by the Georgetown University.

The event was organized on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the OSCE’s Cordoba Conference and Declaration concerning intolerance, discrimination and hatred against Muslims.

The participants in the conference reviewed current manifestations of intolerance and discrimination against Muslims and the related challenges across the OSCE region and explored methods for developing a comprehensive response to address these phenomena.

The aim of the conference was to take stock of efforts being undertaken in OSCE participating States in this regard and relevant commitments, including the implementation of educational activities to raise awareness about intolerance against Muslims and promote non-discrimination, in line with the principles of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.

The importance and significance of this conference was highlighted by the local and parliamentary elections in a number of countries, which reveal the extent to which anti-Muslim candidates and their political platforms threaten the human rights and civil liberties of Muslim citizens and immigrants.

The participating in the forum more than forty NGOs from the OSCE region outlined their views, recommendations and possible solutions in order to help the participating countries to develop contemporary and up-to-date methods to combat intolerance and discrimination against Muslims.

The NGOs adopted a declaration and issued an open letter to ODIHR/OSCE, provoked by the current situation in the region, in which they expressed their concerns with regard to intolerance and discrimination against the religious, ethnic and other minorities, especially Muslims. The declaration will be circulated among the OSCE participating states.

In the conference also participated representatives of the Muslim Denomination in Bulgaria, as well as representatives of the Association for Turkish and Bulgarian Culture – TÜRKDER.