Discrimination against Muslims on the agenda during the visit of OSCE representative for combating non-tolerance Ömür Orhun
Press release 268/2007
3 December 2007
Ambassador Ömür Orhun, OSCE Chairman-in-Office's Personal Representative on Combating Violence and Discrimination against Muslims, will visit Finland on 4-5 December. During his visit, Ambassador Orhun will meet Foreign Minister Ilkka Kanerva as well as representatives of the Muslim community and other religious communities in Finland. Ambassador Orhun’s itinerary will also include meetings with Second Deputy Speaker of the Parliament Johannes Koskinen and Ombudsman for Minorities Johanna Suurpää.
During the visit, the purpose is to discuss, for instance, action for promotion of tolerance and non-discrimination during the Finnish OSCE Chairmanship in 2008.
The representative on combating violence and discrimination against Muslims is tasked with bringing publicity to the operations of the OSCE and – in co-operation with OSCE human rights institutions – support the OSCE member states in execution of obligations concerning the principle of tolerance and non-discrimination.
In recent years, the OSCE has also made wide-ranging investments in promotion of tolerance at the practical level. In the Ministerial Council of Madrid on 29-30 November, the organisation published guidelines for teaching about religion-related matters in public schools – "Toledo Guiding Principles on Teaching about Religions and Beliefs in Public Schools" – drafted by a team of experts from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, ODIHR. According to a hate crime report concerning the OSCE area, published this autumn, the number of hate crimes against people publicly practicing their religion has increased in the OSCE area. Most of the victims of hate crimes with religion as motivation are Muslims and Jews.
Turkish Ömür Orhun was appointed Chairman-in-Office's Personal Representative on Combating Violence and Discrimination against Muslims in 2005.
Additional information: Second Secretary Ann-Mari Fröberg, Finnish OSCE Chairmanship Task Force, tel. +358 9 160 55493, +358 400 183 421, Aleksi Härkönen, Head of the Finnish OSCE Chairmanship Task Force, tel. +358 9 1605 5496, +358 400 330 406