Madrid, European capital against Hate Crime
Madrid becomes last 27 November the European capital of fighting against hate, hosting the international conference “Together against hate speech and hate crime”, organized by the NGO Platform of Social Action and financed by the EEA Grants.
28.11.2014
Almost 200 people attended the international conference “Together against hate speech and hate crime”, which brought together civil society organizations, international organizations and representatives from Justice and public administrations. The objective: “to foster synergies in order to launch new initiatives to prevent, raise awareness and take an action against hate speech and hate crime, which are increasing in Europe”, said Sebastián Mora, vicepresident of the Platform in the opening session.
EEA and Norway Grants Ambassador, Ingrid Schulerud, warned that social media has made Hate speech easier to spread, so “it is necessary to engage the next generations”.
This Conference is within the framework of the European campaign “No Hate Speech”, launched by the Council of Europe in 39 countries and focused on young people.
Johan Christopher Vibe, Norwegian Ambassador in Spain, pointed out that “although Norway is not member of the European Union, we work together with 16 member states trough the EEA Grants, like Spain, to fight Hate Speech and its risk for democracy, fostering at the same time tolerance and multicultural awareness”. The Norwegian Embassy presented a video about hate crime in collaboration with the Spanish journalist Jon Sistiaga.
The conference “Together against hate speech and hate crime” focused on the European debate about hate crime, especially in the innovative partnership initiatives between governments, civil society and international organizations. Also, the issue of the victims’ assistance or the hate speech on line was raised. The NGO Platform for Social Action prepared a document of common conclusions and recommendations.
Some reports show a sharp increase in these type of crimes –those committed for race, religious, sexual orientation reasons- in Europe. Spanish journalist Jon Sistiaga pointed out that “a FRA report in 2013 warned about hints of anti-Semitism and harassment against gay groups”.
In Spain, according to the Ministry of National Affairs, in 2013 there were 1.172 hate crime. Most of them, 452, related to sexual orientation. However, only18% of the victims dares to go to the police, whether it be for personal reasons or they think is useless.
In that sense, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, Criminal Chamber of the Spanish National Court President, called for a “comprehensive piece of legislation” concerning hate speech and hate crime.
Some of the 30 participants were representatives from Justice like Fernando Grande-Marlaska or Elvira Tejada de la Fuente, Prosecutor of the Supreme Court Chamber; from international organizations like OSCE, Council of Europe or the European Union’s Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA); from journalism and social media, like Jon Sistiaga or Patricia Cartes, Head of Global Safety Outreach, Public Policy at Twitter. And, of course, representatives from civil society and NGO organizations.
NGO Platform for Social Action is the Active Citizenship Programme Operator within the EEA Grants whose objective is to strengthen Third Sector in Madrid. In organizing this event, they had the cooperation of the Norwegian Embassy in Madrid and the Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality, Gender Equality Programme Operator.