Invitation til møde med OSCE-formandskabets særlige repræsentant for bekæmpelse af antisemitisme, Rabbi Andrew Baker

RABBI ANDREW BAKER
ALC DIRECTOR OF INTERNATIONAL JEWISH AFFAIRS
Rabbi Andrew Baker is Director of International Jewish Affairs for the American Jewish Committee. In
this positio he is respo si le for ai tai i g a d de elopi g AJC’s et ork of relatio ships with Jewish
communities throughout the Diaspora and addressing the accompanying international issues and
concerns. He has been a prominent figure in addressing Holocaust-era issues in Europe and in
international efforts to combat anti-Semitism.
In January 2009 he was appointed the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chair-in Office on Combating
Anti-Semitism and has been reappointed in each successive year. The Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe, an intergovernmental body of 57 nations headquartered in Vienna, has become
a central arena for addressing the problems of a resurgent anti-Semitism.
He has played an active role in confronting the legacy of the Holocaust. He is a Vice President of the
Conference on Jewish Material Claims against Germany, the Jewish umbrella organization that has
worked on restitution issues for over half a century. I 00 he as a arded the Offi er’s Cross of the
Order of Merit (First Class) by the President of Germany for his work in German-Jewish relations. He was
a member of Government Commissions in both the Czech Republic and Slovakia that were established
to address the claims of Holocaust Victims.
He was a founding member of the National Historical Commission of Lithuania and involved in
restitution negotiations there. He currently serves as co-chairman of the Lithuanian Good Will
Foundation, established in 2012 to administer communal compensation payments. In 2006 the
Preside t of Lithua ia prese ted hi ith the Offi er’s Cross of Merit for his work, and in 2012 he was
awarded the Lithuanian Diplomacy Star. For similar work he was awarded the Order of the Three Stars
by the President of Latvia in 2007. He helped the Romanian Government establish a national
commission to examine its Holocaust history and served as one of its founding members. For this work
he was awarded the National Order of Merit (Commander) by the President of Romania in 2009.
Rabbi Baker directed AJC efforts in the development and construction of the Belzec Memorial and
Museum, a joint project of AJC and the Polish Government on the site of the former Nazi death camp in
Southeastern Poland. In May 2006 he was appointed by the Prime Minister of Poland to a six year term
on the International Auschwitz Council, the official governmental body that oversees the work of the
Auschwitz State Museum.
A long-time resident of Washington, DC, Rabbi Baker has served as President of the Washington Board
of Rabbis, President of the Interfaith Conference of Washington and Commissioner on the District of
Columbia Human Rights Commission. He has also served as a congregational rabbi in Chicago and a
chaplain at San Quentin Prison in California.
A native of Worcester, Massachusetts, Rabbi Baker received a B.A. from Wesleyan University and a
Masters Degree and Rabbinic Ordination from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New
York City. He is the father of four children.
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COUNTRY VISIT: DENMARK
Visit of the OSCE Personal Representatives
Alexey Avtonomov, Rabbi Andrew Baker, Professor Talip Küçükcan
September 10-11, 2014
Danish Institute for International Studies
The Danish Institute for International Studies houses the small staff responsible for
Holocaust education and awareness in Denmark. Although the annual “Auschwitz Day”
programs started as a national initiative, they now focus primarily on education and are
largely undertaken on the municipal level. While the rescue of Danish Jewry during the
Holocaust is a rare and remarkable story, those Jews who were unable to flee found
themselves deported by the Nazis to the concentration camp in Terezin. This tragic chapter
serves as the basis for a new film produced by the Institute. Their programs reach some
6,500 students and 200 teachers annually, with another 300,000 visits to their website.
In 2006, the Institute conducted a study on anti-Semitism in Denmark. While it was
determined to be a relatively “marginalized” phenomenon, the study did find present some
degree of “unconscious” anti-Semitism. The report also determined that anti-Semitism was
an unaddressed problem among immigrants from Arab and Muslim backgrounds.
Researchers based this assessment on interviews conducted with teachers and school
administrators, which included two predominantly-Muslim schools. Today, they note, there
are fifteen such schools, and a new survey is badly needed.
Additional activities in the planning stage at the Institute include one project that focuses on
the challenges of teaching about different forms of intolerance in Danish schools. In visits
with teachers and students at schools around the country, they sought information on
prejudice and the treatment of various minorities. Based on their experience they will
prepare material for educators that will provide historical background, discussion material
and recommendations designed to engage students on questions of inclusion and exclusion,
majority and minority languages, hate speech and discrimination. To illustrate these points,
the material will offer examples from four target groups—Jews, Muslims, Roma and LGBT
communities.
The total budget for the Auschwitz Day staff at the DIIS is 2.4 million Kroner (about
€400,000) which is subject to further budget cuts.
Jewish Community
The Danish Jewish community counts some 2,000-2,500 official members with an additional
two or three times that number, all residing primarily in Copenhagen and vicinity. They
maintain a community building, the central synagogue, an old age home and a Jewish day
school. There are also independent Chabad and Reform Jewish congregations, for which the
community umbrella looks after security. In all there are some thirty-five Jewish
organizations and associations active in the country.
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In 2011, the Community’s security unit set up a monitoring and reporting agency (AKVAH)
which works closely with the Nordic Jewish Security Council (NJSC) and issues an annual
report on anti-Semitic incidents. These have numbered on average about 40 incidents
annually and include physical and verbal attacks as well as Internet postings. AKVAH
believes that the actual number of incidents may be higher, since they only record incidents
that people report to them. They also note that the vast majority of Danish Jews eschew
wearing anything in public that would identify them as Jews, which would also reduce the
number of actual incidents that might otherwise occur.
During the summer of 2014 the Jewish School was vandalized. Windows were broken and
graffiti was written on the walls saying, “No peace for Gaza. No peace for you Zionist pigs.”
Parents were nervous about taking their children to the school, and some forty parents now
serve as security volunteers.
Concerns about physical security are thus at a heightened level. Community leaders have
asked authorities to provide a police presence in front of the Jewish school when parents
are dropping off and picking up their children and in front of the synagogue on Saturday
mornings when some 200-300 worshippers are present. But so far these specific requests
have been rebuffed. Since 2000, the government has provided an average of 2 million DDK
(about €270,000) annually to the Jewish community to help with its security needs, with
special grants in 2009 and 2013 to implement Danish Security Services’ recommendations.
Several other issues were highlighted in our conversations:
On July 25, 2014, several Jewish organizations organized a pro-Israel rally in front of the
Parliament in Copenhagen. Shortly after it began, police informed them that they could not
guarantee their safety from counter-demonstrators. Thus, they stopped the rally and bused
the demonstrators away. Meanwhile anti-Israel demonstrations continued to be organized
with no interference by authorities. Jewish community leaders believe this action
represented an abridgment of the elemental right to freedom of speech and assembly.
[Note: Copenhagen Police report that protecting the demonstrators was never in doubt, but
they were persuaded to end early so as to avoid the need for “massive use of force.”]
Community leaders also noted that an Imam from Arhus while visiting Berlin was
interviewed on German television, and in that interview called publicly for killing Jews.
While police say they are investigating, the Jewish community is pessimistic about charges
being filed since the inciting hate speech took place in another country. However, they
believe it illustrates the danger that anti-Semitic feelings among Muslims are being stoked
by some Muslim religious leaders. [Note: Danish police have referred the case to German
authorities.]
As noted, most Jews in Copenhagen avoid wearing identifiable religious garb in public. In
order to test the claims that doing so, at least in certain neighborhoods, would subject the
wearer to some form of harassment, one radio journalist donned a kippah and went walking
through town. Barely an hour passed before he was physically attacked. He fended off his
attackers by shouting that he was a journalist and not a Jew. In response, in mid-August,
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some 1,000 people put on kippot and other Jewish symbols and marched en masse as an
expression of solidarity with the Jewish community.
It was also reported that one left-wing political party called on the government to
investigate Danish citizens who may fight in the Israeli Defense Forces in the same way that
they are now examining those who have joined the Jihadists fighting for ISIS in Iraq and
Syria.
An on-line petition directed at various Danish media sources has also gathered thousands of
signatures. The petition maintains that Jewish journalists or journalists married to Jews
cannot be objective in their reporting and should therefore be barred from covering events
in Israel and the Middle East.
In Denmark, as in a number of other Western and Northern European countries, there have
been growing efforts to restrict or ban certain key religious practices. With very little
warning Danish authorities instituted a ban on ritual slaughter earlier in the summer. Since
the Jewish community today imports kosher meat from Ireland, authorities insisted that this
represented no special burden on them. They were told that should they wish to resume the
practice of shechitah (Jewish ritual slaughter) in the future, they can appeal to the
government for a change in the law. By most accounts this ban was instituted to curtail the
Muslim practice of slaughtering lambs in temporary abattoirs, which may lack the proper
sanitary conditions. However, we were told, existing legislation which requires official
permits for these slaughterhouses is sufficient to address these problems, and a total ban is
unnecessary.
More troubling are new efforts to secure a ban on the practice of brit millah (ritual
circumcision), which is being spearheaded by an activist group known as Intact Denmark.
The group has launched a public campaign, claiming that infant circumcision poses serious
medical complications and psychological trauma. It brought together sympathetic MPs to
host a Parliamentary hearing on the subject, with witnesses heavily weighted in favor of a
ban. This is a practice that is carried out by nearly all Jews and Muslims, although the
number of Jewish circumcisions is far fewer than those in the Muslim community—about 15
versus 2,000 annually. A total ban on circumcision would lead Danish Jews to question their
place and future in Denmark. In the meantime, the accompanying discussions on social
media, according to Jewish leaders, can frequently turn anti-Semitic.
Muslims in Denmark
It is estimated that Muslims constitute approximately 4 percent (224,000) of the total
population of 5.6 million. They are ethnically diverse and concentrated in the largest cities,
particularly Copenhagen, Odense, and Aarhus.
Representatives of Muslim NGOs in Denmark indicated that they face a broad set of
problems including recognition, equal treatment in education, workforce, employment by
the state or private industry, planning permits for building mosques, minarets, religious
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schools, equal access to health, justice system, provision of halal food and prayer rooms in
state buildings and public schools, cemeteries, circumcision rights and rituals, discrimination
on the basis of religion, and intelligence probes on Muslims and their institutions.
Muslim NGO representatives underlined the fact that Islam is not officially recognized as a
religion by the Danish State. They feel that recognized religions have privileges and
advantages when it comes to making claims. Therefore, they would like to see official
recognition of Islam as a religion in Denmark, which they think would also contribute to
their feeling of security, legitimacy and self-confidence as Danish citizens.
Muslims state that they face discrimination on the job marked based on their ethnic and
religious background. They cite that approximately 30 to 40 percent of Muslim youth
between the ages of 20 and 24 are without any education or job.
They assert that the ban on ritual slaughter (introduced in 2014) and the possible restriction
on circumcision of male children must be considered a violation of freedom of religion in
Denmark. [Note: The Government states that, “In Denmark slaughter according to religious
rites is allowed with prior stunning.” However, most Muslim and all Jewish ritual practice
require the animal to be conscious at the time of slaughter, so by mandating prior stunning
the religious rites are impossible to perform.]
They point to the lack of prayer facilities in state buildings or public schools as an undue
burden since adult Muslims are required to pray five times a day, including during working
hours.
They did note that Muslim cemeteries are allowed, provided their institutions are approved
as representing a religious community.
Muslims argue that they are treated badly by the police when it comes to identity and
driver’s license checks and also during stop and search episodes on the streets. They feel
that because of their ethnic and religious outlook police often deal with them in an
aggressive manner. One example of this discriminatory treatment is that of Ekrem Sahin, a
Turkish Muslim who is said to have died while under arrest and in the custody of prison
officers.
Muslims complain about the stigmatization and demonization of Islam and their community
and the rise of Islamophobia in politics and social life. They feel that the representation and
portrayal of Muslims in the media, educational material, popular culture, cinema and
literature are very negative, which has consequences on the streets as Muslims become
targets of violent attacks. As a result of negative media and political discourse Muslims are
increasingly seen as a security threat. This is further exacerbated by reports that some
Danish-born Muslims have joined radical organizations. Such developments lead to the
“securitization” of Muslim in Denmark, and sometimes Muslim-looking men are seen as
terrorist. One anecdote that illustrates this is the story of a Muslim-looking man on his way
to his university exam carrying a computer whose cables were hanging out of its bag.
Spotted by a Danish woman on the train, she called the police who appeared instantly on
the scene.
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Muslim NGO representatives argue that it is not only Muslim individuals but also their
institutions that are targeted. They cited two cases involving mosques that were searched
by police, leading them to conclude that religious profiling is taking place in Denmark. They
also report that social media has become an uncontrolled vehicle for hate speech and anti-
Muslim rhetoric.
Political groups and parties such as the Danish Defense League and the Danish People’s
Party with right-wing and racist ideologies frequently use Muslims as scapegoats, making
them targets for hate crimes. On that front, Muslims complain that hate crimes based on
religion are not monitored and recorded properly. They also state that attacks on veiled
Muslim women motivated by religious hatred are either not recorded as such or simply as
ordinary incidents.
MINISTRY OF JUSTICE
The Ministry of Justice is responsible for the overall judicial system, including the police and
the prosecution service, courts, prisons and probation service. The Ministry’s principal
functions include legislation, data protection, and immigration. Combating hate crimes is
one of the key issues on the agenda of the Ministry. Authorities maintain that the protection
of minority rights is one of the government’s priorities. At the same time, Denmark has a
centuries-old tradition of freedom of expression. It is a challenge to keep the proper balance
between these two basic concerns.
Jewish Community Security
Authorities maintain that all anti-Semitic incidents are taken seriously as is the protection of
Jewish community institutions. In the aftermath of the recent conflict in Gaza there has
been a rise in anti-Jewish sentiment and incidents. However, Denmark has its own approach
to security which reflects a tradition of openness and accessibility. This “relaxed approach”,
as one official described it, can be seen in the minimal security present outside the
Parliament and the Justice Ministry, by way of example. Therefore, they have been averse
to stationing armed police in front of the Jewish school or synagogue. However, that does
not mean that security is lacking, and police cars routinely circle around these buildings. The
Security and Intelligence Service works closely with the Jewish community and provides
them with advice and intelligence.
Although little has been publicly announced, the Copenhagen police have taken the
vandalism attack on the Jewish school quite seriously. While they do not issue public
statements about specific cases, authorities offered assurances that an active investigation
is in progress.
Confronting Radical Threats
The government is fully aware of the heightened security risk posed by returning Danish
citizens who have joined the Jihadist fighters in Syria and Iraq, who are estimated to number
about 100. Although one may not see a visible police presence at airports, train stations, or
6
government buildings that does not mean that serious steps have not been implemented.
Police maintain close communication with the Security and Intelligence Service, and a
special database has been established with information on returning fighters from Syria and
Iraq, although not other extremists.
Authorities readily admit to the problems posed by increased radicalism in Danish society,
which this special database in part addresses. An action plan published by the Ministry of
Integration at the time of our visit is designed to combat intolerance, extremism and related
issues that are high on their current agenda. The action plan should demonstrate that the
government has a clear strategy and vision on how to monitor and combat radicalism.
These efforts build on established working relationships with both Muslim and Jewish
communities. The Justice Ministry enjoys good relations with many of the country’s Imams,
enabling them to focus on combating radicalization. There is also a positive record of
exchanging information and reporting of hate crimes, which enables the police to be more
effective when addressing intolerance against Muslims.
Monitoring and Reporting Hate Crimes and Hate Speech
A special group in the prosecutor’s office has overall responsibility for monitoring hate
speech, which can be limited or banned based on legislation adopted in 1939. All cases that
have been received by the police are examined and a determination is made if charges
should be filed. The Ministry also examines hate speech that may come from politicians in
the public media. In such situations it has sought the lifting of parliamentary immunity so
that charges could be filed, and it is then up to the judge to decide if the law was violated.
All verdicts in the area of hate speech are a matter of public record, and they can be
accessed on-line.
While civil society representatives maintain that hate crimes are underreported,
government authorities take a different view. They acknowledge that there might be some
underreporting but maintain that it is within an acceptable range and no different than with
other crimes. Also cited was one survey conducted by an independent research professor
which showed that the difference between reported and actual hate crimes was minimal.
It was pointed out that victims themselves are often in a state of shock immediately after an
assault or a threat and may thus be unable to offer a clear and reasoned account of what
took place. Therefore, police are trained in the academy to deal with these special situations
and provided with a list of indicators to look for and questions to ask the victims when
confronting a possible hate crime. Today, police officers should be more aware and
prepared for recognizing hate crimes. Details are recorded in the crime profiles, and hate
crimes are reflected in the reports of both police and prosecutors. This permits the
imposition of additional penalties when guilty verdicts are handed down.
Reports prepared by the Ministry describe hate crimes based on race, skin color, nationality,
ethnic group, religion and sexual orientation. However, there is no additional disaggregation
that would identify crimes committed against Muslims or against Jews. This is not an
oversight but rather based on the principle that every religious group has the right to equal
protection. There is no tradition of identifying specific religious groups or denominations.
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Training
The Ministry takes a comprehensive approach to improving the knowledge of police, judges
and prosecutors about hate crimes. It has enumerated a list of special indicators and issued
guidelines that explain how hate crimes and hate speech are to be considered as
aggravating circumstances. Sometimes the prosecutor’s office will work directly with police,
guiding them on dealing with hate crimes during interrogations. They also carefully follow
the decisions of judges to see if the court decisions make specific reference to hate crime
indicators as originally recognized and stated during the police investigation and the
prosecution process.
Police officials, together with the Security and Intelligence Service and the Institute on
Human Rights, travel to different police districts to introduce their guidelines, list of hate
crime indicators, examples of hate crimes and generally train regional police officers in
dealing with hate crimes. Last year 250 police officers received this training. Hate crime
education has been part of the curriculum of cadets in the police academy since 2012. A
handbook on hate crimes developed by the Institute on Human Rights is widely used during
the educational process. Cadets in the police academy consider real cases of hate crime and
learn how to deal with them on the streets.
MINISTRY OF CHILDREN, GENDER EQUALITY, INTEGRATION AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS
The Ministry allocated approximately 2.6 million EUR in 2012-2015 for initiatives to promote
civic citizenship and to combat ethnic discrimination (inter alia, support for municipalities,
NGOs and integration councils). According to the Ministry, there is a distinction between
existing residents and newcomers. Thus, newcomers should pass the three-year, full-time
training program as a key element for integration: language, individual place in the society
and individual place in the labor market. The Ministry is also focused on coordinating the
government’s efforts in employment assistance for immigrants,, integration at schools and
prevention of radicalization and extremism. The Ministry has good relations with municipal
authorities with regard to the integration policy, as newcomers usually fall under the power
of municipal authority upon arrival.
Training
Ministry officials also noted that the government has a broad range of instruments for
stopping radicalism, including a special unit within the Ministry focused on the prevention of
violence and intolerance in society. For such purposes, the Ministry closely co-operates with
schools, universities, and civil society to follow current trends in society and gain further
insight. By monitoring student attendance and behavior, among other matters, they hope to
be able to recognize the threats of radicalism to society at an early stage. Police also gain
insight through established dialogues with Muslim religious leaders.
LABOR MARKET
There is a particular focus on ensuring that government jobs and positions in the public
administration sector are attractive to persons with diverse backgrounds. Since 2005, there
has been a target for having a minimum of four percent of the public administration
workforce be of an ethnic background other than Danish.
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The Agency for the Modernization of Public Administration (Moderniserings-styrelsen) has
been monitoring recruitment of persons with ethnic backgrounds other than Danish for
government positions. From 2005 to 2012, the percentage of employed immigrants and
their descendants from non-Western countries increased from 2 to 3.2 percent of the total
number of employees within the state administration. The percentage of newly employed
immigrants and their descendants from non-Western countries in 2012 was approximately 6
percent.
The Danish police force has also works actively to recruit persons with ethnic backgrounds
other than Danish. The latest initiatives include issuing a leaflet (“Police job – a future for
your children?”) in eight different languages in order to increase recruitment from minority
groups. The leaflet targeted parents in an attempt to remove some of the cultural barriers
to becoming a police officer.
Unfortunately, many applicants from ethnic backgrounds other than Danish fail the police
recruitment test and drop out of police colleges.
Number of applicants 2009 2010 2011 2012*
Total 2479 1.633 1.038 952
Estimated non-Western
background 164 89 74 59
Non-Western background % 6.6 5.5 7.1 6.2
2012* to 30.10.2012
Newly employed 2009 2010 2011 2012
Total 400 556 95 192
Estimated non-Western
background 20 19 2 5
Non-Western background % 5 3.4 2.1 2.6
Drop out of the National
Police College
Employed year 2009 2010 2011 2012
Dropped-out total 10 9 3 2
The National Commissioner’s Office has recently participated in a research study conducted
by the Danish Institute of Human Rights which focused, inter alia, on possible reasons why
applicants from ethnic backgrounds other than Danish fail police recruitment tests at higher
rates than ethnic Danes. The National Commissioner’s Office will take the findings into
account in the adjustment of the police recruitment test.
The Government has been offering preparatory school courses to persons of other ethnic
backgrounds who want to train as prison officers. Since the nineteenth periodic report this
scheme has been discontinued as it was no longer needed in order to attract sufficiently
qualified applicants with other ethnic backgrounds.
Albeit not aimed specifically at racial discrimination, the Ministry of Defence issued a
Diversity Policy in April 2011. The policy aims at increasing diversity with regard to gender
and ethnic minorities within the the Ministry of Defence. The policy sets out fourteen
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initiatives aimed at increasing diversity, including increased awareness of diversity on
management levels, the drawing up of action plans at the institutional level, strengthened
cooperation with district councils on recruitment of ethnic minorities, and the use of
especially appointed ambassadors from within the system to increase recruitment of ethnic
minorities and women. The policy will be evaluated at the end of 2014.
The Court Administration (Domstolsstyrelsen) is aware of the Agency for the Modernization
of Public Administration’s instructions and guidelines regarding initiatives intended to
improve the recruitment of ethnic minorities into the state administration in its own
recruitment efforts and its instructions to the courts. Furthermore, the Court Administration
works to ensure that the heads of administration of the Danish courts follow the guidelines
for recruiting persons of diverse ethnic origins.
Hate Crimes
Hate crimes are primarily the field of responsibility of the Ministry of Justice and the Police:
for example, the Jewish community has registered 29 anti-Semitic incidents in Denmark
since the start of the 2014 Gaza conflict. The major function of the Ministry of Integration in
regard to hate crimes is prevention work, in particular raising awareness and creating
understanding between different minority groups.
In August 2010, the Copenhagen police together with the Danish Institute for Human Rights,
the Municipality of Copenhagen and the Municipality of Frederiksberg launched a campaign
called “Stop Hadforbrydelser” (stop hate crimes) in Copenhagen and Frederiksberg. The
purpose of the campaign was to raise awareness about hate crimes and get victims and
witnesses to report these types of crimes to the police.
The campaign included posters and stickers displayed in public places such as on busses and
on the sides of roads from August 16-29, 2010. The campaign also included artwork with a
hate crime theme being displayed in Copenhagen and a campaign on Facebook. Shops in the
centre of Copenhagen and in the area of Nørrebro were also invited to contribute to the
campaign by displaying stickers on windows, front doors, etc.
The campaign also featured a website (www.stophadforbrydelser.dk) with information
about how to report a hate crime to the police. The website had information about the
different types of hate crimes, perpetrators and the victims of hate crimes. The website
contained information in different languages about the victim’s right to have an attorney
appointed in case of a trial against the offender. The content of the website has recently
been moved to social media (Facebook).
In October 2012, The Ministry of Justice upheld the continuation of the campaign. The new
campaign consists of an outdoor campaign targeted at raising awareness and encouraging
people to report hate crimes. The campaign also involves an “information and campaign
bus” which will make it possible to reach young people and engage in dialogue with both
victims and perpetrators.
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RECOMMENDATIONS
Review and change the de facto policy of no national involvement in Holocaust
commemoration events.
Government leaders should speak clearly in support of the principle of religious freedom in
the face of efforts that would seek to ban ritual circumcision.
Review and reconsider the current policy that does not specify the religion or other more
defining characteristics of victims of hate speech and hate crimes when recording data.
Provide armed policemen in front of the synagogue and Jewish school at busy times. Such a
presence will reassure parents and worshipers and offer additional deterrence.
Consider the offer of ODIHR to provide supplemental training to police and prosecutors on
addressing hate crimes.
Provide the necessary financial support to the Danish Institute for International Studies so it
can update its 2006 study on anti-Semitism in Denmark.
Strengthen existing efforts to recruit minorities to serve in the police force.
Review and liberalize the procedures by which the Board of Equal Treatment receives and
considers complaints of discrimination. This should include the ability to accept oral
testimony. Additionally the secretariat of the Board should not unduly dismiss complaints
that should be considered by the Board itself.
The findings and conclusions of the broad review of ethnic discrimination in housing and
employment should be widely publicized.
Meetings
Representatives of civil society, community and non-governmental organizations
- Solvej Berlau, Head of Section Holocaust and Genocide of the Danish Institute for
International Studies, Holocaust and Genocide
- Stine Thuge, Head of Section Education and Information of the Danish Institute for
International Studies, Holocaust and Genocide
- Cecilie Felicia Stokholm Banke, Head of Research Unit - Senior Researcher of the Danish
Institute for International Studies, Holocaust and Genocide
- Dan Rosenberg Asmussen, President of the Jewish community in Denmark
- Rabbi Jair Melchior, Jewish community in Denmark
- Alan Melchior, Head of the Administration of the Jewish community in Denmark
- Bashy Quraishy, Secretary General of the European Muslim Initiative for Social Cohesion
- Jette Møller, Chairperson of SOS Against Racism Denmark
- Muharrem Aydes, Economist - Director - TV Mosaik
- Helene Larsen, Teacher/Hate Crimes Face Book Page Admin
- Zahra Bellaoui, Silent Voices
- Aamir Sohail, President-Green Cards Association
- Fatih Alev, Imam – Muslim Centre
- Niels-Erik Hansen, Director - Danish Refugee Council
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- Uzma Ahmed Andersen, Chair – Nørrebro Local Council
- Gregory Christensen, Youth for Huamn Rights
- Eckhard Ahmed Krausen, Photographer/Activist
- Mustafa Hussain, Lecturer / researcher, Islamophobia in media
- Raza Mustafa, Radio Host
- Nasar Malik, Journalist/broadcaster
- Abbas Razvi, Member – Regional Council - Copenhagen
- Bashir Nazmi, Minhaj-ul-Quran
- Pervaiz Akhtar, Interpreter-Asylumseekers/refugees
- Navid Baig, Imam and consultant
- Hamid El Mousti, Chair-Danish Moroccan Society
- Nawaz Sandhu, TV Link
- Imran Hussain, Chair – Network/Activist
- Imran Shah, Muslim Association
- Abdul Wahid Petersen, Imam-Chair – International Muslim Aid
- Stine Høxbroe, Consultant/researcher Islamophobia
- Khaterah Parwani, Legal advisor - Danish Refugee Council
- Poya Pakzad, Consultant - MS
- Iqbal Khan, Minorities Health Consultant
- Monsour Heydarzadeh, Researcher minority relations
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Government of Denmark
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Mette Nørgaard Dissing-Spandet, Head of Department for Human Rights
- Pernille Ørum Walther, Head of Section, Legal Department - Human Rights Office
- Vanessa Vega Saenz, Head of Section, Legal Department - Human Rights Office
- Martin Bang, Senior Advisor, Legal Department - Human Rights Office
Ministry of Justice
- Carsten Kristian Vollmer, Deputy Permanent Secretary
- Andreas Emil Christensen, Deputy Head of Division
- Ingeborg Gade, Assistant Deputy Director, Director of Public Prosecutions
- Rikke Bækgaard Thomassen, Senior Legal Advisor, Danish Security and Intelligence Service
- Michael Ask, Chief Superintendent, Danish National Police
Ministry of Children, Gender Equality, Integration and Social Affairs
- Henrik Thomassen, Head of Department of Integration and Democracy
- Astrid Vind, Head of Section
- Morten C. R. Spies, Head of Section, the Anti-Discrimination Unit, the National Social
Appeals Board
Ministry of Education
- Anders Andersen, Head of Department
- Christian Lamhauge Rasmussen, Special adviser
- Sofia Esmann Busch, Educational advisor
- Jakob Ragnvald Egstrand, Educational advisor
- Lars Erik Storgaard, Educational advisor
- Lise Bagge Rasmussen, Head of Section
- Lene Barba, Head of Section
- Irene Holse, Head of Section
- Ramanan Balasubramaniam, Special adviser
- Hanne Larsen, Special adviser
Danish Parliamentary Ombudsman
- Morten Engberg, Head of Division
- Christian Ougaard, Senior adviser
Accompanied by
- Daniel Bekčić, Political Adviser, Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the OSCE, Chair-in-
Office
- Azra Junuzović, Deputy Head of Tolerance and Non-Discrimination Department,
OSCE/ODIHR
- Dmitry Ivanov, Programme Officer, Tolerance and Non-Discrimination Department,
OSCE/ODIHR


Side 1 | 1
OSCE PA, Retsudvalget og Udenrigsudvalget
Til:
Dato:
Delegationens og udvalgenes medlemmer og stedfortrædere
7. november 2019
Invitation til møde med OSCE-formandskabets særlige re-
præsentant for bekæmpelse af antisemitisme, Rabbi Andrew
Baker
OSCE-formandskabets særlige repræsentant for bekæmpelse af antisemi-
tisme, Rabbi Andrew Baker, besøger Danmark den 12.-15. november 2019.
Der er i den forbindelse arrangeret et møde.
Mødet finder sted tirsdag den 12. november
kl. 14.00 - 15.00 i værelse 1-009
Rabbi Andrew Baker ønsker at drøfte status for bekæmpelse af antisemi-
tisme i Danmark herunder sikkerhed for jøder i Danmark; bekæmpelse af
hadkriminalitet; uddannelse, herunder om holocaust; rituel omskæring af
drenge samt en definition af antisemitisme. Besøget munder ud i en kort rap-
port, som vil fokusere på områder, hvor der vurderes at være rum for forbed-
ringer i bekæmpelsen af antisemitisme, men også områder som kan virke
som inspiration for andre lande.
Rabbi Andrew Bakers program omfatter møder med Børne- og Under-
visningsministeriet, Justitsministeriet, Sundheds- og Ældreministeriet samt
Udenrigsministeriet. Det skal bemærkes, at Baker også besøgte Danmark i
2014 sammen med to andre personlige OSCE-formandskabsrepræsentanter
for bekæmpelse af henholdsvis intolerance og diskrimination. Bakers CV og
rapporten fra sidste besøg i 2014 er vedhæftet til orientering.
Interesserede medlemmer bedes tilmelde sig til charlotte.faber@ft.dk senest
mandag den 11. november kl. 10.00.
Med venlig hilsen
Charlotte Faber,
Delegationssassistent
Retsudvalget, Udenrigsudvalget, OSCEs Parlamentariske Forsamling 2019-20
REU Alm.del - Bilag 71, URU Alm.del - Bilag 27, OSCE Alm.del - Bilag 4
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