OSCE trains police and prosecutors of Ukraine about religious freedom standards

OSCE ODIHR seminars for police and prosecutors in Ukraine focus on freedom of religion or belief and hate crimes.

Police and prosecutors from Ukraine discussed international standards on freedom of religion or belief and responses to hate crime at two seminars organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in Vinnytsia on 13 and 14 July and in Odesa on 16 and 17 July 2015.

Each seminar began with participants exploring the national legal framework in Ukraine and discussing good practices and challenges in ensuring that freedom of religion or belief is safeguarded in the context of the daily work of law-enforcement and prosecution officials.

“Freedom of religion or belief is inseparably related to many other rights, such as freedom of expression, freedom of peaceful assembly and association, as well as the right to property and effective remedy,” said Kishan Manocha, ODIHR Senior Adviser on Freedom of Religion and Belief.

He also stressed: “In line with states’ obligation to protect and fulfill these interrelated and interdependent rights, it is important for police officers and prosecutors to acquire an understanding of international standards related to freedom of religion or belief and adhere to the principles which underpin them when fulfilling their responsibilities.”    

The ODIHR invited Maksym Vasin, Executive Director of the Institute for Religious Freedom (Kyiv), as a national expert for better practical adaptation of the seminars to the Ukrainian context.

The second day of each seminar was dedicated to introducing the concept of hate crime and discussing ways to address it.

Ales Hanek, ODIHR’s Hate Crime Officer, said: “Hate crimes affect not only the victim, but send a message of rejection to their community. By responding to hate crimes, police officers and prosecutors ensure that bias motivation is acknowledged and hate crimes do not go unpunished, which in turn sends a counter-message to the society, preventing their escalation.”

The seminars were organized as part of ODIHR’s project on “Strengthening Security of Religious and Belief Communities and Others in Ukraine”. It was started in March 2015 with seminars for representatives of religious communities, activists of civic society organizations and officials of local state administrations.

The purpose of the project is to build capacity of civil society, religious or belief communities and relevant state institutions on freedom of religion or belief and hate crime, and promote dialogue among religious or belief groups, and between these groups and the state.