Addressing security needs of Jewish communities in Western Balkans focus of OSCE/ODIHR event in Skopje

The security needs of Jewish communities were at the centre of discussion at a regional conference co-organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in Skopje on 12 and 13 November 2018.

The conference, organized in co-operation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the OSCE Mission to Skopje and the local Jewish community, was designed to raise awareness of and discuss ways to address the security needs of Jewish communities in the Western Balkans region. The event brought together more than 50 law enforcement officials and Jewish community representatives (35 men and 17 women) from the host country, as well as Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia.

The conference featured a presentation of ODIHR's practical guide Understanding Anti-Semitic Hate Crime and Addressing the Security Needs of Jewish Communities.

“The security of Jewish communities is the responsibility of governments,” said Christie Edwards, Deputy Head of ODIHR's Tolerance and Non-Discrimination department. “Only strong co-operation between governments and Jewish communities can pave the way to safer and more tolerant societies in the OSCE region.”

Participants discussed methods to strengthen co-operation between law enforcement agencies and Jewish communities, and the role that international organizations, such as the OSCE, can play.

“Responding to contemporary anti-Semitism and ensuring the safety of Jewish, and other communities, is particularly important for our government,” said Oliver Spasovski, the host country's Minister of Interior. “I believe that today’s event will allow my colleagues from law enforcement institutions from the Western Balkans region to enhance their understanding of anti-Semitism and how best to collaborate with community representatives in preventing and addressing crimes grounded in anti-Semitism.”

Ambassador Clemens Koja, Head of the OSCE Mission to Skopje, said: “Our Mission supports the host country in the implementation of the Ohrid Framework Agreement that stipulates in its basic principles that ‘non-discrimination and equal treatment of all under the law will be respected completely’. Discrimination, hate crime and hate speech are serious problems in this region and represent a potential threat to improving inter-ethnic relations.”

The conference was organized as part of ODIHR’s Words into Action to Address Anti-Semitism project.