| UNITED | |
| NATIONS | E |
| Economic and Social | Distr. |
| Council | GENERAL | |
| E/CN.4/1996/72 | ||
| 15 February 1996 | ||
| ENGLISH | ||
| Original: ENGLISH/FRENCH |
COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS
Fifty-second session
Provisional agenda item 12
Report by Mr. Maurice Glélé-Ahanhanzo, Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, submitted pursuant to Commission on Human Rights resolutions 1993/20 and 1995/12
1. This report is submitted in compliance with resolution 1995/12 of 24 February 1995 in which the Commission on Human Rights requested the Special Rapporteur to continue to examine in accordance with his mandate incidents of contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, any form of discrimination against Blacks, Arabs and Muslims, xenophobia, negrophobia, antiSemitism and related intolerance, as well as governmental measures to overcome them, and to report on those matters to the Commission at its fiftysecond session.
2. The Commission also requested the Special Rapporteur to continue his exchange of views with the relevant mechanisms and treaty bodies within the United Nations system in order further to enhance their effectiveness and mutual cooperation. It also called on all Governments, intergovernmental organizations and other relevant organizations of the United Nations system, as well as non-governmental organizations, to supply information to the Special Rapporteur.
3. At the request of the Commission, the Special Rapporteur participated in the work of the fiftieth session of the General Assembly during which he submitted a substantial report (A/50/476). It will be sufficient to mention that, for the first time since the end of apartheid, following the statement by the Special Rapporteur on the situation of racism and racial discrimination, the General Assembly opened a substantive debate on those matters and numerous representatives of Member States of the United Nations voiced their concern over racism and racial discrimination and over the resurgence of xenophobia, under cover of law and legislation.
4. The General Assembly expressed its full support for the mandate of the Special Rapporteur in the resolution that it adopted at the close of the debate (resolution 50/135).
5. One of the tasks of the Special Rapporteur is to consult with intergovernmental bodies to prevent actions giving rise to racism and racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance (resolution 1995/12, para. 12). In that context the Special Rapporteur went to Strasbourg on 29 September 1995, to Human Rights House, where he had a working meeting with the Bureau of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance.
6. The Commission explained to the Special Rapporteur the mission assigned to it by the Vienna Summit of Heads of State and Governments of Member States of the Council of Europe in October 1993. Its main thrust concerns the strengthening of safeguards against all forms of discrimination.
7. The Commission has already established a programme of activities comprising various fields of action, the first of which consists of the study of the situation of each member country of the Council of Europe, the second of work on international legal instruments and the third of the international dimension in the fight against racism and intolerance.
8. During 1995, following consideration of the situation country by country, the Commission began to formulate recommendations involving both legal and nonlegal measures intended for the countries concerned on the subject of international legal instruments. It concentrated particularly on the European Convention on Human Rights by carrying out work focusing on the feasibility of strengthening the nondiscrimination clause in that Convention.
9. The Special Rapporteur, for his part, outlined the mandate entrusted to him by the Commission and expressed his wish to work in close cooperation with the European Commission, in particular through the regular exchange of information. He briefly referred to the tour he was making in Europe at that time (to Germany and France) and requested some additional items of information on the situation of certain member countries of the Council of Europe.
10. The Special Rapporteur and the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance mutually agreed to keep each other informed of any developments in Europe and within the United Nations in connection with combating racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance.
11. The Special Rapporteur went to the headquarters of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on 5 October 1995 in order to consider the scope for cooperation with the organization and to acquaint himself with its work to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance. This brought home to him that UNESCO was attentively following the implementation of the Third Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination and had, in that connection, organized several seminars and conferences that had given rise to publications. The following may be mentioned by way of example:
An international seminar of experts on the prevention of discrimination against migrants, refugees and minorities, held at Olympia, Greece, in May 1994;
The Conference on Democracy and Tolerance, held at Seoul in September 1994.
12. The Special Rapporteur said that such work would be very useful to him and invited UNESCO to refer also to the various reports he had submitted to the Commission on Human Rights and to the General Assembly, and to consider practical measures to introduce the teaching of human rights as a subject in the curricula of preschool, school, nonformal and university education, with a view to progressively putting an end to racism and xenophobia.
13. During 1995, the Special Rapporteur visited in turn Brazil, Germany, France and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. His report on his mission to Brazil is available as document E/CN.4/1996/72/Add.1. Those on the missions to Germany, France and the United Kingdom, will, because of lack of resources and time constraints, be submitted later. Germany, France and the United Kingdom respectively submitted periodic reports to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination which will usefully supplement the information gathered during the missions, without duplicating it. That information can be summarized as follows.
14. The Special Rapporteur visited Germany from 18 to 27 September 1995. He wishes to convey his appreciation to the German Government for the thoroughness with which the visit was organized and for the outstanding hospitality with which he was received and which contributed greatly to the success of his mission. He was most gratified at the highly instructive and valuable exchanges of views he had with the people with whom he spoke and appreciated their responsiveness and availability, as well as their knowledge of the problems and their wish to arrive at satisfactory solutions which, in fact, were not always selfevident. However, it is to be regretted that a lawyer should have made a point of relating all issues - immigrants, right of asylum, holding centres, and so forth - to the Federal system and to the domestic law of Germany, as well as to the European Union, the prime objective of the German people, thus overlooking international law and the international conventions duly ratified by his country. The Special Rapporteur based his discussions on a principle and a virtue which he regards as essential: dialogue.
15. His German counterparts grasped the situation so well that they called him the "Ambassador for Human Rights" a title he welcomes and which he is keen to deserve fully since it is a noble calling. This attitude which was soon shared by both sides quickly dispelled the somewhat inquisitorial climate which characterized the start of his discussions, and greatly facilitated them.
16. Xenophobia exists in Germany. It is widely acknowledged that at the grassroots level there is racism; hatred of foreigners is not directed against Europeans, Americans or Australians. Racism is based on skin colour and religion: people of Judaeo-Christian background and the rest. It is said that foreigners are tolerated, but not accepted.
17. It is appropriate to recall that German reunification was accompanied by a chorus of xenophobic sentiments encouraged by organizations of the far right and by neo-Nazi cells. Between 1991 and 1993 there was a plethora of incidents motivated by xenophobia or racism and targeting foreigners and asylumseekers. While being mindful of the positive trend taken by events since 1994, the Special Rapporteur wished to look into the underlying causes of the phenomena observed and to acquaint himself with the measures taken by the Federal Government and by the authorities of the Länder and with what had been done by civil society.
18. Thanks to the firm and meticulous policy pursued by the Federal authorities and those of the Länder against political organizations of the far right and neo-Nazi cells and against the denial of the genocide of the Jews, Germany has been able to stem the tide of xenophobia and to curb the racially inspired violence which, following reunification, shook the country from 1991 to 1993.
19. According to information from the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Justice, racial, anti-Semitic and xenophobic acts are on the decline; they fell by 60 per cent in 1994; in 1995, however, they remained a major factor: fires of criminal origin occurred in April, May and June 1995. Direct confrontation between the protagonists no longer takes place but racist, anti-Semitic and xenophobic statements are made, and written material is sent, comprising insults or racist propaganda or incitements to hatred of foreigners coming from "anti-constitutional movements"; similarly, there are instances of damage to property. There is a great risk of becoming inured to these manifestations which are frequent and unspectacular. This is particularly the case, so it is said, since the perpetrators are not all identifiable and that it proves difficult to characterize such actions in legal terms: "It is not always clear what is racist, anti-Semitic or xenophobic".
20. There is a clear awareness of the danger for Germany of the development of xenophobia and racism which is likely to tarnish its image as a major Power in the world. Thus, the Special Rapporteur was often told: "We have not forgotten anything and we know we must behave in an exemplary fashion". As a result, great vigilance is shown towards the far right and neo-Nazism and there is a sustained offensive against antiSemitism and xenophobia.
21. The Special Rapporteur was able to ascertain the progress achieved: legislation has been strengthened, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution monitors respect for rights and fundamental freedoms. Several organizations of the far right have been dissolved and the activities of neoNazi movements, in particular their racist and antiSemitic propaganda, have been prohibited. AntiSemitism is a taboo subject. Since it persists, the Government has spent about 10 million deutsche marks over two years in order to combat antiSemitism in schools and other places of assembly (through advertising posters, computer games, and so forth). As a result of severe penalties and of improvements made to police training through the teaching of the principles of nondiscrimination and inculcating awareness of nonracist attitudes, police violence is on the decrease. Moreover, the judgement in the Soligen case sends an exemplary message and appears to act as a deterrent. Furthermore, Germany civil society, under the leadership of the Commissioners for Aliens, the churches, various associations and private firms, has conducted and continues to conduct intensive campaigns calling for respect for foreigners and coexistence with foreign populations and communities resident in Germany.
22. It remains for Germany to adopt a more coherent immigration and integration policy which takes account of the presence of longestablished immigrants not as a transitory phenomenon but as a longterm and even permanent feature. In the main, this is a matter of the Turkish issue which is a difficult one which is complicated by intraTurkish disputes connected with the question of the Kurds.
23. The Turks resident in Germany are the largest alien colony, numbering over 2 million out of 7 million foreigners in the country. This population is in its third generation: born, educated and trained in Germany, following the same school, university and vocational studies as people of German stock, the second and particularly the third generation of immigrants have in general no more than emotional ties with Turkey. On reaching their majority they discover that they are not German; they do not have German nationality. They are conscious of this, for example, on getting married and when submitting official documents. Few of them are integrated and have acquired German nationality; unlike foreigners from the European Union, they cannot take part in municipal elections. Up to the time of the Special Rapporteur's mission the question of dual nationality was not resolved. The German law, which is 82 years old, and the Turkish law, do not allow dual nationality. Agreements are currently being negotiated between the two States to determine a policy on dual nationality, which is something that would facilitate the "integration" of the Turks. But the difficulty remains that the latter, in general, want to have the status of "national minority" like the two other national minorities, the Danes and the Swabians.
24. Efforts still need to be made to change mental attitudes in favour of the acceptance of a multicultural German society, a matter that is being actively addressed by the Commissioners for Aliens. Efforts should also be made to improve the reception of asylumseekers. The question is complicated by the European third State clause - and the flood of asylumseekers from the former Yugoslavia and from the countries of Eastern Europe gives Germany the feeling that, more than any other European State, it is bearing the brunt of the burden of immigration.
25. The Special Rapporteur makes the following recommendations:
(a) Living conditions in the holding centres should be improved and the humanitarian aspect should be taken into account in the refoulement of irregular immigrants.
(b) A more humane solution than refoulement should be found, in particular, for Vietnamese and Mozambicans who were working under contract in the former German Democratic Republic and whom reunification did not take into account.
(c) Lastly, an antiracist law against antiSemitism and against xenophobia should be adopted.
26. In addition to his findings, the Special Rapporteur transmitted to the German Government allegations of incidents that may have been racially motivated. The observations of the German Government on this matter are annexed to this report (annex I).
27. The German Government also made observation on certain passages (paras. 144148 and 150) of the Special Rapporteur's report to the General Assembly at its fiftieth session (A/50/476); those observations are reproduced below:
"The accounts of criminal acts in Germany in the Special Rapporteur's report are partly incorrect, incomplete or misleading. For example, the description of the case of arson in Mellendorf on 8 January 1995 is not consistent with the facts. The fire was actually caused by a technical defect. A politically motivated criminal act or terrorist attack can definitely be ruled out. The fire in mobile homes in Arsberg on 2 February 1995 was started by the occupants themselves to show their dissatisfaction with their living conditions.
"Some of the report's statistics require correction. The percentage of cases solved in Germany is higher than as stated in the report. It increased from 23.8 per cent in 1993 to 33.5 per cent in 1994. The Rapporteur's list of banned extreme rightwing organizations is incomplete. Since 1992, five have been banned by the Federal Ministry of the Interior and six by the interior ministries of the Länder.
"The information on German criminal procedure and especially on the Priem case is inaccurate. Arnulf Priem was convicted by the Berlin regional court on 23 May 1995 not merely for illegally possessing weapons and racist propaganda material but for disparaging the State and constitutional institutions, using symbols of former Nazi organizations and keeping objects which contain such symbols, and for forming an armed gang and violating the Weapons Act. He was given a prison term of three years and six months and the judgement is final."
28. The Special Rapporteur would nevertheless like to make some remarks on the handling of the information he receives or seeks, in particular the allegations of racist incidents.
29. The German Government has made observations which, at its request, have been brought to the attention of the General Assembly (A/50/476, para. 16). The German authorities expressed regret that no adversary procedure had been instituted making it possible to obtain the views of Governments on the racist or xenophobic incidents reported by nongovernmental organizations or by certain Governments.
30. The Special Rapporteur would like to reiterate the observations he made in paragraph 17 of his report in document A/50/476 of 25 September 1995: "The Special Rapporteur wishes to draw attention to the administrative and financial constraints (relatively short deadlines for the preparation and submission of reports to the Commission and to the General Assembly, consultations with Governments, administrative secretariat and translation of documents ...) which make such a procedure impracticable in the immediate future. None of the recommendations about the means required for the proper execution of the mandate have been followed up. For the time being, the Special Rapporteur is trying to the best of his ability to inform Governments of the cases submitted to him". That is how he is proceeding. The responses of Governments are transmitted to the political authorities (see the case of the fire attack without warning on a woman of Turkish origin in the Land of BadeWurtemberg, a case which the Special Rapporteur submitted to the German authorities during his visit to Germany) and to relevant nongovernmental organizations.
31. Rather than relying on political and administrative explanations - inquiries into racist or xenophobic incidents often run into the sand (those guilty are not found, there is no evidence) - the Special Rapporteur prefers to rely on judicial rulings, for which he has respect. The case of the seven Sudanese "asylumseekers" which caused a stir in the Bundestag in Germany at the time of the Special Rapporteur's visit and which was referred to in his discussion with Members of Parliament during the working session that was arranged on 19 September 1995, is a revealing example of this. The great debate which should have been held in the Bundestag on 20 September 1995 did not take place as the case had been "deflated" by the press, which had established that they were "bogus asylumseekers" who had been "rightly" refused entry.
32. As the Special Rapporteur pointed out at the recapitulatory meeting held at the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bonn on 27 September, the replies provided give the impression that the only racist or xenophobic incidents or manifestations that are culpable are those that are spectacular and covered prominently by the media, whereas other incidents which occur on a daily basis are treated as inconsequential. Substantial efforts, however, are being made by the Government and by civil society progressively to reduce and even eliminate racism and racial discrimination.
33. The Special Rapporteur visited France from 29 September to 9 October 1995 after receiving information on the development of racism and xenophobia. He wishes to convey his deep appreciation to the French Government for having arranged this visit, for the quality of the hospitality received and for the spirit of cooperation displayed by its representatives.
34. In its reports for 1991, 1992, 1993 and 1994, the French National Consultative Commission on Human Rights noted the multiplication of racist and xenophobic incidents targeting immigrants and French people of foreign origin, particularly Arabs, and of antiSemitic acts (desecration of cemeteries, graffiti, dissemination of publications). The Special Rapporteur received information on the measures taken by the French Government and on the development of the situation and makes the following observations.
35. France is experiencing problems with the integration of foreign populations or of French citizens of foreign origin (in particular from the Maghreb and from black Africa) and these are typified by the "difficult suburbs" on the periphery of several large cities. These suburbs, where there are concentrations of immigrant populations which seem to have been left behind by the process of development of French society, today exemplify tensions originating in the economic crisis and its corollary, social exclusion, a national identity crisis, ethnocultural problems, discriminatory practices, particularly in the fields of employment and housing, and a degree of xenophobia in people's way of thinking.
36. The economic crisis on the one hand, and the identity crisis on the other, are aggravated by the claims of people of French stock to ascendency over naturalized French citizens and immigrants; hence the reference to the theme of national preference, with its xenophobic and even racist content, in political speeches.
37. The wave of xenophobia currently sweeping over France feeds on the attitudes adopted and declarations made for electioneering purposes by politicians, both on the right and on the left. It is not due solely to the far right which makes foreigners the scapegoats, particularly if they are Black, Arab or Muslim. Xenophobia in France is today sustained by the Pasqua Acts, which, it must not be forgotten, are laws of the French Republic. For France's image, and its moral responsibility, at the global level, in the history of the promotion and defence of human rights, the peremptorily enacted laws on immigration, the right of asylum and the forced repatriation of "illegal" entrants, constitute nothing less than an act of selfrepudiation which calls to mind the words of Suetonius: "et propter vitam vivendi perdere causas" ["and in order to live their own life they lose their true reason for existence"]. The Special Rapporteur's interlocutors acknowledge moreover that the Pasqua Acts are difficult to apply and raise delicate problems of interpretation. Confirmation of this is provided by the paradoxical situation of French children one of whose parents is not of French nationality. The father may be expelled from France if he is deemed to be an illegal alien: families are separated. The procedure for obtaining French nationality now involves a veritable assault course. French nationality may be refused on such surprising grounds as that the applicant is "plump and ugly". There are increasingly frequent cases of this great country, which excels in much publicized humanitarian actions, making it increasingly difficult to obtain an entry visa into France for seriously ill people who demonstrably have the means to pay their hospital bills, meet the cost of their stay and return to their country of origin. Is humanitarian action selective, or is it worth being humane only in the glare of publicity? What has become of human dignity? One is tempted to ask.
38. It would be very helpful if the recommendations of the National Consultative Commission on Human Rights on the review of the Pasqua Acts were to be taken into account by the competent legislative and executive authorities. Some people consider that the National Consultative Commission should build on the celebrity it has acquired and go further, in the faithful discharge of its mission, by prevailing on those in power to take urgent measures to rectify and improve the battery of laws on immigration.
39. One of the principal problems to which a solution should be found that is more humane and more in keeping with the humanist ideal that France has taught and disseminated throughout the world and which has been one of the justifications of colonization which has called the people of other continents to "civilization", is the problem of the right of asylum, a right that is linked to the right of immigration which is all too easily characterized as clandestine. It raises the distressing and worrying issue of the holding centres at airports and seaports, and even in major cities such as Paris with the Centres of Vincennes and Nanterre, and the former Centre at the Palais de Justice in Paris, of sinister memory.
40. The Special Rapporteur also considers that xenophobia and the antiArab and antiMuslim movements should be perceived in the light of the fundamental question of the place that Islam has acquired in French society. Islam is the second religion in France. How is that religion to thrive in all its dimensions in a society that belongs basically to a JudaeoChristian culture, and in a secular State, in a "citizen's" republic as many people like to say, rather than a culturally pluralistic society of communities: cultural identity, cultural diversity, cultural complementarity, mutual cultural enrichment?
41. Will France accept, in the name of State secularism, Islamic schools in the same way as it accepts private Christian schools, subject to the same legislation and the same rules? These are all questions to which it was difficult to provide the Special Rapporteur with answers. The serious terrorist attacks of fundamentalist or integrist inspiration considerably complicated the situation. From this point of view it seems that France is facing not so much problems of economic and social development as a veritable crisis of society and civilization. It is this set of problems that prompts and feeds the wave of xenophobia that is sweeping across France and is directed in the main against people from the South while the construction of a greater Europe, which some people already regard as a fortress, continues.
42. The French authorities, and many individual voices, speak out to denounce and combat racism, the flood of aggressive xenophobia, and antiArab and antiMuslim movements which are not due exclusively to the French far right. The public authorities and civil society have become aware of the danger of xenophobia and racism and of the sporadic manifestations of antiSemitism.
43. Having taken the measure of these phenomena, the French authorities are endeavouring by strengthening anti-racist legislation, to reverse the trend. Justice is at work; in spite of its delays (cf. the Carpentras case: the desecration of a Jewish cemetery). Justice is endeavouring, not without difficulty, to ensure respect for the rule of law and for the international conventions to which France is a party. In addition, economic and social measures are being taken (municipal policy as the Special Rapporteur was able to see it in Lyons and Marseilles) to facilitate the progressive integration of immigrant populations resident in France. Lastly, the call for tolerance and for respect for the dignity of one's fellow human beings, made by the religious communities and by various associations involved in the struggle for the rights and dignity of the individual, is steadily although slowly helping to bring about a change in attitudes.
44. A great deal remains to be done through systematic education in the rights of the individual, not through traditional civic education which the crisis of ideologies has emptied all content, but through an upsurge of French humanism to halt the deterioration in the image of the original homeland of human rights and the rights of the citizen.
45. By way of conclusion, the Special Rapporteur has recommended the French authorities:
(i) to revise the Pasqua Acts to make them more humane and more in keeping with the French ideal of human rights and with international conventions on the rights of the individual;
(ii) to be more generous in granting entry visas for people from the South, in particular for asylumseekers and for people wishing to have medical treatment in France and who are able to afford it;
(iii) to expedite the procedure for examining the files of persons detained in holding centres and to bring about an improvement in living conditions there since even an ordinary prisoner has a right to human dignity; to make the conditions of expulsion less degrading for "illegal" entrants;
(iv) to study the feasibility of devising and disseminating a syllabus for the teaching of human rights on the basis of the agreed common ground of international declarations and conventions on the rights of the individual;
(v) lastly, to provide technical assistance and financial support for the holding of an international seminar on racism and xenophobia through partnership between the National Consultative Commission on Human Rights and the United Nations Centre for Human Rights. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the fact that his recommendations have been heeded and that the idea of the seminar was relaunched at the start of 1996 by Mr. P. Bouchet, President of the French National Consultative Commission on Human Rights.
46. The mission to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland took place from 13 to 24 November 1995, as agreed with the Government of that country.
47. The prevailing atmosphere was one of frank and open discussion which quickly dispelled memories of the opposition of a sector of the press which had wondered in 1994 what business the United Nations had getting involved. The prevailing tone of the discussion prompted the British authorities at the conclusion of the mission to say that it had been useful.
48. The Special Rapporteur would like to convey his deep gratitude to the Government of the United Kingdom for arranging his visit, for the quality of the hospitality he received, and for the spirit of cooperation displayed by its representatives. He would like to say how much he appreciated the "British sportsmanship" which enabled him to visit the holding centre at Campsfield, to the north of London, and at Kidlington near Oxford, where immigrants suspected of being illegal entrants and asylumseekers, who are increasingly regarded as "bogus", are held. He was able to form his own opinion on these holding centres which are tending to increase in number and which raise problems with respect to the rights and dignity of the individual, for a person, even when seeking work and/or seeking asylum, keeps his or her human dignity. He was pleased to have had useful meetings with municipal officials in London and in Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool who are endeavouring to improve race relations in their cities, and with officials of the national and regional offices of the Commission for Racial Equality. He also thanks the officials and representatives of the nongovernmental organizations and of various ethnic minorities who agreed to see him and provided him with information.
49. Allegations received at the Centre for Human Rights referred to a multiplication of racist incidents in the United Kingdom due, in particular, to the activities of movements of the far right and to the behaviour of the police towards certain ethnic minorities. Jewish organizations had also informed the Special Rapporteur of the resurgence of antiSemitic acts prompted by the propaganda of fundamentalist Islamic organizations and organizations of the far right.
50. The mission also took place after the consideration, in July 1995, by the Human Rights Committee of the fourth periodic report of the United Kingdom submitted in accordance with article 40 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The Committee expressed regret "concerning the failure to address adequately issues properly arising under article 26 of the Covenant".
51. The Committee also expressed concern on a number of matters directly or indirectly related to the question of racism and racial discrimination.
52. The Government of the United Kingdom acknowledges the existence of problems of racism and xenophobia and is trying to overcome them through legislative and administrative measures designed to eliminate economic and social disparities between the indigenous majority and the ethnic minorities. Government action is supplemented by that of local communities, churches, trade unions and numerous nongovernmental associations and organizations.
53. The United Kingdom was in fact one of the first Member States of the United Nations to make a frontal attack on the problems that may arise from race relations. That country very early on adopted laws on the subject and created a Commission for Racial Equality responsible for supervising their implementation. The United Kingdom is seen as a multicultural society the epicentre of which remains the British nation which is not encroached on by the various ethnic and black minorities which have their own cultures but live under the laws of Britain.
54. Remarkable progress has been achieved during the 30 years of the policy of racial equality, but increasingly subtle forms of discrimination have emerged. Moreover, in recent years, the economic crisis and competition for increasingly scarce resources and jobs, as well as political activity by far right and neoNazi movements and parties, and violent action by the police against certain communities, have polarized social relations between rich and poor on the one hand, and between whites and blacks on the other. The term "blacks" is used in a political sense; it denotes the blacks and ethnic minorities of the United Kingdom; in ordinary speech the terms used are either "blacks" or "blacks and ethnic minorities". In these black communities racial riots, murders of racist origin and various more or less serious incidents have occurred.
55. The arrival of immigrants and asylumseekers, in particular from the southern hemisphere, has accentuated the ambient xenophobia. The recent measures envisaged by the Government to check immigration and requests for asylum (severe restriction of entry visas, construction of new holding centres, establishment of a list of safe countries for the grant of the right of asylum, greater restrictions on the reunification of families) do not seem likely to relieve tensions. British universalism is increasingly tending to be reduced to the European Union and the original civilizing and humanist mission of the United Kingdom is being eroded. In order to provide for a fresh look at that mission, the Special Rapporteur has made the following recommendations to which the British authorities showed themselves to be responsive at the recapitulatory meeting on 24 November:
(i) Education for the acceptance of people different from oneself;
(ii) The training of members of the police force and the incorporation in the police of citizens from different ethnic communities;
(iii) The severe condemnation of police violence;
(iv) Conditions that are more respectful of human dignity in the holding centres and in cases of the refoulement or expulsion of "illegal entrants" and asylumseekers;
(v) To review the law on incitement to racial hatred which is difficult to apply and seems to serve little purpose. To create a specific offence of racist harassment and violence and an offence of defamation with respect to an ethnic group or minority;
(vi) To take action to ensure that the United Kingdom is not seen as a country that rejects people from the south, particularly black minorities, in favour of nationals of countries of the north.
56. The Special Rapporteur gives below an extract from the communication from the Israeli Government dated 13 October 1995 concerning antiSemitism worldwide. The full text of this communication is available for consultation in the Secretariat.
These are a few of the conclusions introduced in the annual survey, AntiSemitism Worldwide 1994, prepared by the Project for the Study of AntiSemitism at Tel Aviv University. The following report is a brief summary based on that survey.
Some of the trends noted in 1993 continued and seem to have become an acceptable part of reality: techniques for disseminating antiSemitic propaganda are improving in sophistication in reaction to Government policies of imposing bans and legal constraints; bonds and coordination among extremist groups are being strengthened; a distinction is still made between moderate messages aimed at the larger voting public and cruder messages designed for internal consumption in radical circles. The moderate messages touched on sensitive points, such as foreign workers and the danger they allegedly pose to a country's society and culture, or the bearing they have on civil rights in that country. Worst of all is the gradual breaking of taboos, which has resulted not only in greater violence but also in vicious and crude instigation, mostly on the part of small but increasing numbers of hardcore extremists. This incitement has been filtering down to the general public discourse, reinforcing the image of the negative and dangerous Jew.
The image of the Jew as a subversive element aiming at 'Jewish world domination' is at the core of various extremist ideas. In Japan popular books warn against Jewish and Zionist plots to use their world economic power to destroy Japan in a matter of years. In the United States, Black Muslims accuse Jews of having been slave traders, and of deflecting attention from their crime by bringing to centre stage their fabrications about the Holocaust, thus overshadowing the suffering of the Blacks.
In a world which is more oriented towards nationalism and group affiliation, racist ideas are loudly aired. The alleged Jewish domination of the world, first embodied in The Protocols of The Elders of Zion, recently has been reborn in many new forms, especially that of Holocaust denial: the Jews' grip is so strong that they can sell the world any horror story, and the world will buy the story and pay up.
Throughout the Western world a considerable increase was noted in the role of extremist Muslim groups and movements affiliated to fundamentalist organizations in North Africa and the Middle East, and in the percentage of violent assaults which turned out to be part of extremist Muslim activity. This increase is in part related to developments in the Middle East, and in part independent of events there.
Ceremonies which took place in 1994 all over the world commemorating the 50th anniversary of the end of the Second World War and the liberation of Auschwitz, brought relations with the Jewish people to the fore. The impact of these ceremonies on public debate and extremist activity was especially marked in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, where most of the Holocaust victims were killed. Issues such as compensation for Jewish property, rehabilitation of war criminals who today are presented as national antiCommunist heroes, cooperation of the local population with the Nazis are all still sensitive subjects. Every commemoration and new monument take their toll in antiJewish terms."
57. In addition to the communication from the Israeli Government, the Special Rapporteur received a document from the Coordinating Board of Jewish Organizations concerning antisemitism which is annexed to this report (annex II).
58. As the reports he has submitted both to the Commission and to the General Assembly show, the end of apartheid does not mean the end of racism and racial discrimination. The manifestations of contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, together with antiSemitism, bode ill for the international community.
59. Racist propaganda and incitement to ethnic and racial hatred are spreading; racism is taking increasingly violent forms including physical aggression, murder, attacks on the property of immigrants or people belonging to ethnic, racial or religious minorities, the desecration of cemeteries and the destruction of places of worship. The resurgence of the absolute sovereignty of States takes the form of the use of the law, and therefore of legislation to curb and significantly reduce immigration, the right of asylum and the free movement of persons, a subtle reflection of the xenophobia which rages in many regions, both in the north and in the South.
60. Certain attitudes that have been adopted might be seen as implying that such phenomena are not of great importance. For his part, the Special Rapporteur has tried to place his own efforts in the context of the international disapproval reflected by the World Conference on Human Rights (Vienna, June 1993) and which led to the proclamation of the Third Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination.
61. In spite of the limited material and human resources at his disposal, he has endeavoured to identify the various aspects of the problem with the assistance of Governments, the specialized agencies, in particular ILO and UNESCO, regional organizations including the Council of Europe, national institutions and nongovernmental organizations, which all kindly transmitted information to him.
62. The missions of the Special Rapporteur have enabled him to begin a dialogue with the Governments of the countries he visited. He has had the opportunity to appreciate the usefulness of such missions to the places concerned in that they may make it possible, within a short space of time, to get a sense of the actual situation in the country. Through dialogue with those involved on a daily basis, such missions provide a means of going beyond the impersonality of written texts and statistics in order to come to grips with living reality and its contradictions.
63. Whether in the United States of America or in Brazil, in Germany or in France and the United Kingdom, the Special Rapporteur was able to make his own observations in the street; he watched television, read the local press and had conversations with ordinary citizens in order to gather impressions and form opinions on possible problems. The information obtained, far from leading to purely subjective conclusions based on personal impressions, has been a source of the greatest importance for the studies made by the Special Rapporteur.
64. On two occasions, moreover, he was fortunate to arrive at a time when urgent topical issues were the subject of intense discussion. One example was during his mission to the United States when the publication of the book by Charles Murray, The Bell Curve, was causing a stir throughout the country because of the racist conclusions contained in the book. Similarly, during his visit to the United Kingdom, the Government and the Labour opposition were engaged in a confrontation over the immigration rules and the right of asylum, each accusing the other of "playing the racist card".
65. Furthermore, the missions have helped to provide information on the work of the United Nations in combating racism and racial discrimination. Indeed, most of those whom the Special Rapporteur met, in particular the representatives of nongovernmental organizations and community associations, had a vague idea that there was some arrangement for promoting and protecting human rights. But to see an actual representative of a United Nations body coming to see them and taking an interest in their fate gave them encouragement and fresh hope. That was, for example, the impression which the Special Rapporteur gained on his brief visit to Belem in the north of Brazil to meet representatives of a nongovernmental organization, left to its own devices and without resources, but working determinedly on behalf of the Blacks of the State of Pará, and in particular the Quilombos communities on the borders of Amazonia.
66. As he was putting the final touches to his report on Sunday, 28 January 1996, the Special Rapporteur saw on television scenes of rioting among Jews in Jerusalem as the Falashas (Jews of Ethiopian origin) denounced the racism and racial discrimination from which they claimed to suffer in Israel. The Special Rapporteur approached the Israeli authorities in order to have more comprehensive information on the nature of those demonstrations and on the measures which had been taken by the public authorities and on the initiatives of civil society.
67. An enormous task still remains to be completed in view of the complexity of the issues, in all five continents, covered by the mandate. Field missions should be continued in Africa, in Latin America and in the Caribbean and in Asia, in Oceania and in the Middle East in order to provide a panoramic view of the contemporary forms and manifestations of racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia, which are terrible phenomena from which no region is exempt and which affect the countries of the North as well as those of the South. The Special Rapporteur earnestly hopes that the countries in those continents will receive him and will provide him with all necessary assistance for the discharge of his mission.
68. The Special Rapporteur hopes he has fulfilled a useful role in contributing to the understanding of part of the problems and to the quest for appropriate solutions.
Notes
1. In 1995 the Special Rapporteur received allegations from a number of sources concerning incidents which took place in Germany and which might have been racially motivated. Fifteen cases were transmitted to the Government of Germany for its observations. a
2. The summaries of the allegations and the observations of the Government of Germany are set out below.
Case No. 1995/1
Allegations
Place: Verl
Date: 24 November 1994
3. It has been reported that an arson attack was made on a Turkish-owned guesthouse near Guetersloh on 24 November 1994. Three people were killed and six others were injured. Three of the injured suffered very serious burns.
4. It is alleged that this incident had racist motivations.
Observations
5. The facts of the case are confirmed. The investigations have however not revealed any indications of a xenophobic offence. The fact that the fire broke out inside the house, on the second floor, and that the guest rooms are used by individuals of different nationality, particularly from Northern Europe, counters the argument of racially motivated arson. Those who died were one Polish woman, one Bulgarian man and one German man.
6. The investigations of the competent public prosecution office are being pursued on the basis of negligent homicide and concern the owners and operators of the hotel/restaurant.
Case No. 1995/2
Allegations
Place: Oberderdingen
Date: 4 December 1994
7. It has been reported that there was an arson attack on a timber depot next to a house owned by a Turkish family on 4 December 1994. The residents evacuated the house immediately and no one was injured in the incident.
8. The police suspect the incident was an arson attack and that it had racist motivations since swastikas and the slogan "Ausländer raus" (foreigners out) were painted on the outer walls of the house before this incident.
Observations
9. On 4 December 1994 at about 4.20 a.m., unknown offenders used a Molotov cocktail to set fire to a timber depot adjoining the house at 27 Sternenfelser Strasse in Oberderdingen, as a result of which the depot burned to the ground and the fire spread to the dividing wall between it and the house. Four members of the Turkish family living there were injured when they fled from the house.
10. Because a sheet of paper had been found on 30 November 1994 in front of the property, with the words "Türken raus" (Turks out), and, according to the family concerned, several swastikas had already been chalked onto the wall of the house, the investigations carried out by Karlsruhe public prosecution office in respect of attempted serious arson initially presumed that there was a xenophobic background. However, the result of the investigations carried out by the criminal police do not make it possible to exclude the possibility that the arson attack was not xenophobically motivated.
11. In spite of the fact that the public prosecution office offered a reward of 2,000 deutsche marks for clues leading to identification or apprehension of the offender or offenders, no concrete clues emerged. For this reason, the investigation proceedings had to be discontinued on 30 March 1995 because no offender could be identified.
Case No. 1995/3
Allegations
Place: Reichelsheim
Date: 12 December 1994
12. It has been reported that there was an arson attack on the house of the Cakmak family (of Turkish origin) in the village of Reichelsheim near Friedberg, Frankfurt, on 12 December 1994. The fire was started by an explosion in the entrance hall. A plastic gasoline container was found on the stairs after the fire was extinguished.
13. There was damage of 50,000 deutsche marks. No one was injured in the incident. It is alleged that this arson attack had racist motivations.
Observations
14. The facts of the case are confirmed. According to the police investigations, one must assume arson. To date the investigations concerning the offender or offenders have been without success.
15. As yet, there have been no indications that the offence was xenophobically motivated. The Cakmak family also state that they have not been bothered in this sense before.
16. On 29 April 1995 there was another case of arson concerning relatives of the Cakmaks, also in Reichelsheim. The police investigations revealed strong suspicion against the son of the owner of the apartment, who is also the owner of the house affected by the arson attack of 12 December 1994. The latter is presently serving a prison sentence on work release from Frankfurt IV Prison. He is also accused of inciting a coinmate to commit the offence. The police investigations into this matter have not yet been concluded.
Case No. 1995/4
Persons concerned
Sinan Kadioglu
Gulsum Kadioglu
Muhammed Kadioglu
Sultan Kadioglu
Sedva Kadioglu
Mustafa Kadioglu
Allegations
Place: Reichertshofen
Date: 24 December 1994
17. It has been reported that Sinan Kadioglu and his fiveyearold son Muhammed Kadioglu (of Turkish origin) died in an arson attack in the village of Reichertshofen near Ingolstadt. The fire started around 7 a.m. in a workshop attached to a house on Margarethen Street and spread to the kitchen. The mother Gulsum Kadioglu, and three other children (Sultan, Sevda and Mustafa Kadioglu) escaped by jumping out of the window in the second floor. The 38yearold father returned to the smokefilled house to search for his son. There was an explosion in the second floor while he was inside and the father and son were both killed. The Kadioglu family had been living in Ingolstadt since 1978.
18. Sources claim that quite a number of neoNazis in the neighbouring towns of Faubourg and Rockfolding frequently come to Reichertshofen. Nineyearold Mustafa Kadioglu said that a group of neoNazis had recently come to his school.
19. It is alleged that this arson attack had racist motivations and was perpetrated by neoNazis.
Observations
20. The facts of the case are confirmed.
21. On the basis of the investigations carried out by the technical expert witness, as well as of the observations of the witnesses, it has been established that the fire broke out in the extension, between a grease pit and the house. The extension is a shed subsequently built onto the house and used by Sinan Kadioglu as a garage and car repair shop.
22. The report of the Bavarian Regional Criminal Office reached the conclusion that the fire could have been caused either by a technical fault, by negligence or arson. Because of the great deal of damage done, it was not possible, however, to find any specific indications of a specific cause of the fire. According to the expert witness, Sinan Kadioglu must have been in the garage at the time of the fire. The investigation has not yet been concluded. As yet, it has not revealed any indication of a racist motivation behind any arson attack.
Case No. 1995/5
Allegations
Place: Geesthacht
Date: 28 December 1994
23. A Turkishowned teashop was destroyed in a firebombing in Geesthacht, Hambourg, on 28 December 1994. The 22 Turkish and German residents of the flats above the shop were evacuated after the fire broke out around midnight and fortunately no one was injured. The damage was to a value of 250 deutsche marks.
24. It is alleged that this incident, which followed many others in which Turks and Turkishowned businesses in Germany were targeted by neoNazis, had racist motivations.
Observations
25. The facts of the case are mostly confirmed.
26. The investigation is being carried out by a special commission of Lübeck district criminal police office which has been established in Geesthacht, in consultation with fire experts from the Regional Criminal Office. According to witnesses' statements, three men who are said to have unmistakably been Turkish nationals started the fire. They are said to have fled in a car parked close by after committing the offence.
27. The investigations carried out to date by the Geesthacht special commission have not revealed any indications that the offence could have been committed by members of the German rightwing extremist scene or that it was xenophobically motivated.
Case No. 1995/6
Identities
Mehmet Ali Karaaslan
Malik Unlü
Mehmet Ozbagdal
Allegations
Place: Fürth
Date: 14 January 1995
28. It has been reported that German neoNazis attacked Mehmet Ali Karaaslan, Malik Unlü and Mehmet Ozbagdal (all of Turkish origin) when they stopped at traffic lights on Geleitzgasse in Fürth near Nürnberg on 14 January 1995. Mehmet Ali Karaaslan was severely injured and had to be hospitalized. Malik Unlü and Mehmet Ozbagdal were also wounded in the incident. The neoNazis then went to the Fürth Turnerschaft Sports Club and attacked the Turks inside with bats and knives.
29. It has been alleged that this attack had racist motivations.
Observations
30. On 15 January 1995, shortly after 2 a.m., a dispute broke out between German and Turkish nationals, first of all in Königstrasse in Fürth. According to those concerned, the fight started at traffic lights at a building site in this street. A car had stopped there with two Turkish nationals inside who had just left the Turkish club "Turnerschaft Fürth" in the nearby Geleitsgasse. At about the same time, the German cooffenders left a birthday party at the "Amadeus" café in Fürth. The two groups happened to meet at the traffic lights. The dispute, which was initially verbal, later became physical. The investigating authorities considered that the events as a whole probably arose from insults being exchanged by both sides.
31. The dispute subsequently moved in front of the club in the nearby Geleitsgasse. That is where Malik Unlü was knocked to the ground and kicked by individuals whose identity has not been established, whilst he defended himself with an ashtray. The Turkish national Karaaslan, an innocent bystander who was coming out of the club, was also struck and kicked by individuals whose identity has not been established. The use of sticks or knives was not observed.
32. Karaaslan received a fractured skull, Unlü multiple bruises to his skull and cuts to the head, as well as multiple haematomas and painful movement restrictions in the cervical spinal column and the temperomandibular joints.
33. In view of the contradictory information provided on the cause and the course of the dispute, the competent public prosecution office intends to discontinue the investigation proceedings on factual and legal grounds.
34. The investigations have revealed no indication of a specifically racist motivation for the incident.
Case No. 1995/7
Identity
Aykut Erol
Allegations
Place: Kiel
Date: 20 February 1995
35. It has been reported that there was an arson attack on the travel agency owned by Aykut Erol (of Turkish origin). The fire was started by two Molotov cocktails thrown into the agency through the window. There was heavy damage, but no injuries.
36. It is alleged that this arson attack had racist motivations.
Observations
37. On 17 February 1994 two simultaneous arson attacks were carried out at 11.21 p.m. on Turkish travel agencies in Elisabethstrasse and Ringstrasse in Kiel. In both cases, the offenders broke the windows and threw Molotov cocktails inside. Neighbours and the police were able to put out the fires quickly, so that there was little material damage. There were no injuries.
38. A witness was able to apprehend a suspect close to the scene of the crime in Ringstrasse and another suspect was temporarily apprehended by police officers on the basis of a description. The two are Turkish nationals, against whom detention orders were issued on 18 February 1994 in respect of attempted arson.
39. According to the investigations, the possibility of a racist or rightwing extremist motivation for the attacks can be excluded.
Case No. 1995/8
Identities
Muhammed Bayrak
Ziya Yildiz
Nihat Isik
Allegations
Place: Mülheim
Date: 28 February 1995
40. It has been reported that plainclothes German Special Team members of Essen Police Headquarters arrived at the Café Royale on Eppinghofer Strasse in Mülheim Ruhr, which belongs to a Turkish national, in five or six vehicles accompanied by an ambulance. They put on hoods to cover their faces and bulletproof vests once they got out of the cars. They later went into the café and shouted for everyone to lie on the floor. When one of the clients, Muhammed Bayrak (also of Turkish origin), told the Special Team members that he had a heart problem, they yelled back "We don't care about your heart" and he was forcibly brought to the floor, hit in the mouth with the butt of a gun and kicked. Mr. Bayrak was hospitalized, suffering from broken ribs.
41. Another client of Turkish origin, Ziya Yildiz, was kicked while lying on the floor, handcuffed and hit on the head with a weapon. Nihat Isik, also of Turkish origin, who asked the police for identification, was pushed around, had a plastic bag put on his head to obstruct his breathing and had his throat clasped.
42. The Special Team members left the café. It was later understood that they were looking for three Yugoslav nationals. There were some German nationals who also witnessed the attack.
43. It is alleged that the behaviour of the Special Team members and their attack was prompted by racist motivations.
Observations
44. According to the investigating public prosecution office, the incident took the following course:
"On 28 February 1995 at about 7.50 p.m. 11 officers of Essen special team (SEK) apprehended 3 individuals in the pool café 'Bistro Royal' in Mülheim an der Ruhr, Eppinghofer Strasse 108 who were under suspicion of having taken part in four armed robberies in Mülheim an der Ruhr and in Neuss, as well as two more in the Netherlands, in the course of which they carried firearms. The public prosecution office in 'sHertogenbosch in the Netherlands is investigating, inter alia, in respect of attempted murder, since a shot was fired at a victim in the course of an offence committed there.
On the basis of information gathered in the course of telephone surveillance, there were indications that the persons to be apprehended were meeting in order to commit another similar offence. They were therefore presumed to be carrying firearms. This is why the officers of SEK Essen were deployed, whose main function is to apprehend armed criminals who are prepared to use force.
According to the police reports which I have at my disposal, the police officers were wearing helmets, bulletproof vests and face masks, as well as armbands with the word 'Police' printed on them, and had Land crests on their vests. When the officers entered the 'Bistro Royal', those present, including Mr. Bayrak, Mr. Yildiz and Mr. Isik were addressed several times, loudly and clearly, with the words: 'Police, don't move'.
Mr. Bayrak reportedly rushed towards one of the police officers with outstretched arms, although the former was carrying a firearm in his right hand. He was then pushed to the ground and handcuffed by two other officers. The officers had to use considerable force because of the amount of resistance offered by Mr. Bayrak. The claim made by Mr. Bayrak in the investigation proceedings that a sack had been pulled over his head is incorrect. The SEK did not use any such item. Because another of those present said that Mr. Bayrak suffered from heart disease, he was immediately treated by the emergency doctor who was on the scene. According to the report, Mr. Bayrak was neither struck nor kicked.
The police report further states that Mr. Yildiz attempted to grab a machine gun from an officer who was providing cover. The officer defended himself against this attack. The report states that Mr. Yildiz was handcuffed. In proceeding 40 UJs 22/95, Mr. Yildiz stated that he had interpreted the incident not as a police operation but as an attack by an gang of criminals or a terrorist group, and had thus attempted 'in an instinctive defensive reaction' to push the weapon which was in the hand of the nearest police officer to the side.
According to the information available to me to date, there is no reason whatever to suppose that the police operation in question was 'racially motivated'."
45. Düsseldorf chief public prosecution office also reported that the three persons apprehended in the pool café "Bistro Royal" in Mülheim an der Ruhr were two Yugoslavs and one German national.
Case No. 1995/9
Allegations
Place: Cologne (NorthRhine/Westphalia)
Date: 13 April 1994
46. It has been reported that on 8 April 1994 a newborn baby was found abandoned in a park in Cologne and taken to hospital where he was examined and declared to be in sound health.
47. On 13 April 1994, at 6 a.m., more than 100 policemen are said to have been dispatched to surround a camp for asylumseekers belonging to the Roma and Sinti minorities. There they are said to have conducted a search because, they said, they were tipped off by a witness who saw a woman with a baby carriage who looked "like a Gypsy".
48. The police are said to have rounded up all women from the ages of 15 to 40 taking them to the police station, having them finger-printed and photographed, and forcing them to undergo blood tests. Three of them, one of whom was a young girl of only 15, are said to have been subjected to forced gynaecological tests.
49. The police issued the following statement: "The hospital informed us that the baby who was found had the kind of skin pigmentation that is found in the Romas and the Sintis ... it was necessary to have such a massive police presence because it is characteristic of this ethnic minority that they run away from the police".
50. It is alleged that this incident had racist motivations.
Observations
51. This incident took place as follows. On the morning of 8 April 1994 a woman going for a walk in a park in Cologne-Poll found a male baby that was just a few hours old. As it later transpired, the child had suffered a fractured skull - presumably as a result of force being applied, was naked, and was still attached to part of the placenta. Thanks to immediate medical reanimation measures the baby's circulation and breathing were stabilized, and the baby's life could be saved. At the time the baby's body temperature had been a mere 19 C.
52. Since the investigating authorities - specifically because of statements made by a witness - thought that the child's mother was in the hostel for asylumseekers in Poller Holzweg, where the vast majority of residents were refugees from the former Yugoslavia, the public prosecuting authorities in Cologne applied to Cologne Local Court for an order enabling them to take blood samples from 39 women living in the accommodation at Poller Holzweg and also to search the premises of the asylum-seekers' hostel. The names of the women affected, including women belonging to the Roma ethnic group, were taken from the list of the hostel occupants - with account being taken of their age.
53. The Court orders applied for were made by an investigating judge at Cologne Local Court on 12 April 1995. The order for blood samples to be taken was based on the provision in section 81c (2) of the Criminal Procedure Code. This provision states that the taking of blood samples from persons other than the accused is admissible without the consent of the person to be examined provided there is no fear of detriment to his or her health and the measure is indispensable for determining the truth.
54. On the morning of 13 April 1995, at 7 a.m., 18 criminal investigation officers, 60 members of the police force, 4 members of the staff at ColognePorz District Office and 4 interpreters arrived at the accommodation provided at Poller Holzweg. After the hostel buildings had been closed off by uniformed officers the premises were searched individually.
55. In a document specially prepared in writing and handed out, the interpreters told the women affected, in their mother tongue, about the facts of the case and about the purpose of this operation. The interpreters were required to ask the women whether they had understood what had been translated and whether they consented to having a blood sample taken. In some cases because the hostel residents understood German the officials involved were also able to communicate with them directly.
56. Fifteen women in respect of whom the judge had ordered a blood sample to be taken were not there. The measures ordered have not been carried out in their case yet.
57. A total of 40 women at the hostel were taken by police bus to police headquarters in Cologne, where blood samples were taken from them by medical practitioners in the presence of two interpreters.
58. On the basis of a further urgent order made by the public prosecution office pursuant to section 81a (2) of the Criminal Procedure Code another three women, from whom a blood sample was to be taken by judicial order, were brought to the gynaecological department of the women's section of the Cologne University Clinic for a medical examination. This was done because a witness had stated that the women concerned resembled a person he had seen near the place where the baby was found.
59. The measures described above did not lead to the child's mother being identified. Investigations are continuing.
60. The complaint filed by one of the women concerned against the taking of a blood sample, ordered by Cologne Local Court, was rejected as unfounded by Cologne Regional Court in a ruling given on 24 July 1995.
61. Criminal charges were laid against the investigating public prosecutor, the investigating judge with jurisdiction in the case and the policemen who had been in command for, inter alia, infliction of bodily harm, coercion and unlawful deprivation of liberty. The public prosecutor's office at Cologne Higher Regional Court instructed the Bonn public prosecution office to carry out the subsequent investigations, which were terminated by the latter on 14 September 1995 because there was insufficient evidence that a criminal offence had been committed.
62. The chief public prosecutor in Cologne reviewed the matter, in the exercise of his powers of specialist supervision, focusing on the question whether - specifically in the light of the police detachment sent in - sufficient account was taken of the women's interests that warranted protection, and particularly whether everything had been done to avoid a possible exposure of the women that was not necessitated by the purpose of the investigation. The chief public prosecutor also considered the question whether the operation should have been conducted with greater sensitivity and empathy. He had the following to say on this:
"I do not fail to recognize that the planned operation - already in the light of the large number of persons involved irrespective of their nationality or membership of particular ethnic groups - could only be carried out with the deployment of a large police detachment. Even if this operation was supposed, according to the Bonn public prosecution office's statements in the note terminating the investigation, to have taken place in a 'quiet', 'friendly' and 'relaxed atmosphere that was not aggressive', the film material broadcast by the West German Broadcasting Corporation (the 'Westdeutscher Rundfunk') - particularly the 'surrounding' of the four hostel buildings by officers in uniform - did to some extent give the impression of almost 'militant' action being taken. Given the gravity of the offence, this was still compatible with the principle of proportionality. It could, however, have been organized more carefully and with greater sensitivity so as not to allow the impression of - unintended - intimidation to emerge at all. Also, there can otherwise be no question of this operation being of a discriminatory character."
63. The chief public prosecutor further remarked:
"I regret that the public have partly been given the - incorrect - impression that the type and the scale of these measures were determined by 'peculiarities' of the group of Sinti and Roma. Evaluations of this kind could have been avoided, particularly in press reports, in the light of the special degree of circumspection and restraint needed here. In this respect, I have requested the head senior public prosecutor to take all necessary steps."
64. This remark referred to a statement made by the investigating public prosecutor to the press immediately after the operation. The public prosecutor had said, inter alia: "We are investigating a crime: This has nothing to do with racism at all. We would have done this to anybody else as well. And the large number of policemen involved here simply results from the peculiarities of this ethnic minority, since otherwise they would all just run away".
65. The Ministry of Justice of the Land of North-Rhine/Westphalia expressly shared the chief public prosecutor's assessment vis-à-vis the NorthRhine/Westphalian Land Parliament. It was said that although the action taken by the criminal prosecuting authorities was still in proportion, it could have been organized with greater circumspection. The statement to the press was said to display a lack of the sensitivity needed.
Case No. 1995/10
Allegations
Place: Worms (Rhineland-Palatinabe)
Date: 6 December 1994
66. It has been reported that an arson attack was organized on the Turkish Islamic Cultural Association in Worms on 6 December 1994. The threestorey building was reportedly owned and also inhabited by three Turkish families.
67. Heavy damage is said to have occurred but nobody is said to have been injured. A fuel container is said to have been found in the burnt-out building after the fire.
68. It is alleged that this incident had racist motivations.
Observations
69. On 7 December 1994 an arson attack was carried out on the premises of the Turkish Islamic Cultural Association in Worms. Damage amounting to roughly DM 5,000 was caused. On 21 March 1995 the public prosecution office in Mainz preferred an indictment before Worms Local Court - sitting with two lay judges - against two Turkish nationals for this arson attack. According to the assessment made by the public prosecution office, there have so far been no indications of a political or racist motivation for this crime.
70. Judgement has not been delivered in this case yet.
Case No. 1995/11
Identities
Yusuf Karbuz R. Aslan
Riduan Tunç Yasar Döner
Mahmut Türkücü Mahmut Tabul
Nuri Demir Hüseyin Altigan
Remzi Braul
Allegations
Place: Hanover (Lower Saxony)
Date: 17 March 1995
71. It has been reported that nine Turkish prisoners whose names are mentioned above went on hunger strike in Hanover Prison on the ground that they were subjected to heavy imprisonment because of their foreign status. It was also claimed by the prisoners that Turkish criminals receive longer terms of imprisonment than their German counterparts who had committed the same crime and that, in such situations, Turks were convicted while Germans were released.
Observations
72. The Turkish Embassy has approached the Federal Government on the same matter. In its note verbale dated 20 June 1995, the Federal Foreign Office made the following statement:
73. "Twenty-seven Turkish inmates were on hunger strike between 15 and 22 March 1995 in Hanover prison in order to protest against the rulings of the German courts, which they regarded as being unfair, particularly with regard to the extent of the sentences imposed. At no time was the health of the inmates in danger.
74. The Legal and Constitutional Committee and the Sub-Committee 'Prison and Support of Convicts' of the Regional Parliament of Lower Saxony dealt with this incident in detail. In doing so, they ascertained that there had been no human rights violations and that the allegations were unfounded. In particular, subsequent to discussions with the foreign inmates, the conviction was formed that the generalized accusations levelled against Lower Saxony judges, public prosecutors and lawyers contained in the 'Press statement to the public' enclosed with the note verbale of the Turkish embassy are untenable.
75. The constitutional principle of the independence of the judiciary has been explained several times to the inmates concerned by the governor of Hanover Prison and the chairman of the Sub-Committee 'Prison and Support of Convicts' of the Legal and Constitutional Committee of the Regional Parliament of Lower Saxony. Regardless of this, on inspection of the warrants of arrest and the sentences on which the detention of the inmates on hunger strike was based, the chairman of the Sub-Committee stated that he had found no indications of prejudice, poor investigation or disadvantages suffered by nonGerman convicted persons with regard to the extent of their sentences. In the same vein, there were no indications either of confessions having been forced or of their not having led to milder sentences in accordance with the principles for sentencing contained in the Criminal Code (sect. 46). Furthermore, those concerned, almost all of whom have counsel, were and are able to appeal the sentences imposed on them, and thus to have their convictions changed.
76. In so far as the inmates complain in general terms of 'errors and unfairness' by the public prosecution office, it is pointed out that under law, public prosecutors are independent representatives of the administration of justice. There is no knowledge of unprofessional breaches of duty with regard to individual inmates on hunger strike.
77. An exchange of correspondence has not taken place with regard to this matter between the Turkish Consulate General in Hanover and the Ministry of Justice of Lower Saxony. On 30 March 1995, Consul-General Mehmet Emre expressed his thanks for the detailed information provided.
78. The inmates have been informed that, because the matter is being dealt with in Parliament by the organs of the Regional Parliament of Lower Saxony which have a mandate in this matter, there is no reason for an additional interview with the Minister of Justice, Ms. Alm-Merk. In so far as the inmates have named others with whom they wish to speak, they are free to invite these individuals themselves."
Case No. 1995/12
Identity
Züleyha Oztürk (Ms.)
Allegations
Place: Hamburg
Date: 6 April 1995
79. It has been reported that Ms. Oztürk, a Turkish national, was the victim of brutal treatment by two police officers, who forcibly entered the flat where she was looking after a friend's child (at 46 Eichstrasse) on 6 April 1995. Without giving reasons for their entry into the flat, these police officers are said to have demanded to see her identity papers, and one of them is said to have molested her before taking her - again without giving any reasons - to the Davidwache police station against her will. There she is said to have been photographed. A doctor's certificate that was issued on the day the incident took place attests to the young girl suffering a severe headache and having scratches and numerous bruises - for which she holds responsible the policeman who is said to have almost throttled and then kicked her.
80. It is alleged that the police officer's conduct had racist motivations.
Observations
81. In the light of the criminal investigations conducted in respect of the police officers involved, the facts are as follows. On 6 April 1995 Ms. Oztürk was in her friend's flat in Eichstrasse in the Hamburg suburb of St. Pauli to look after the two-year-old child of her friend, who was away. During the afternoon, neighbours laid a charge at the Davidwache police station of noise creating a nuisance because of loud music coming from the flat where Ms. Oztürk was. Police officer H. went to the flat together with a colleague and they told Ms. Oztürk the reason for their appearance. The personal particulars needed for making a record of a regulatory offence could not be taken from Ms. Oztürk because she did not have any identity papers with her and initially refused to give her personal particulars. During the course of the conversation she gave them the personal particulars of the absent occupant of the flat. In the opinion of the investigating authorities, linguistic misunderstandings did not play any role because Ms. Oztürk has been living in the Federal Republic of Germany for 18 years and is fluent in German. Ms. Oztürk also did not comply with the request to accompany the police officers with the child to the nearby Davidwache station to have her personal particulars checked there. When police officer H. then took her by the arm to lead her out of the flat she began to slap out and kick with her hands and feet. To avoid difficulties and to calm Ms. Oztürk down, police officer H., using his right arm, gripped the upper part of her body from behind. Further measures could not be applied because the police officers saw no chance in that situation of taking Ms. Oztürk and the child to Davidwache peacefully without calling in reinforcements. At the same time as the two police officers arrived who had been called by radio the occupant of the flat and Ms. Oztürk's boyfriend arrived. Ms. Oztürk then accompanied the police voluntarily to Davidwache station where her personal particulars were checked very quickly.
82. In view of Ms. Oztürk's statement that she had been throttled by police officer H., she was given an immediate hearing by a member of the staff of the special department of the Hamburg police force dealing with offences committed by members of the force. With Ms. Oztürk's consent four Polaroid photographs were taken to document the alleged injuries to her throat, which were confirmed by the doctor's certificate submitted later. The certificate also indicated that the muscles of her back were painful when pressure was applied. It is also apparent from this certificate that Ms. Oztürk said to the doctor that she had been kicked and held round the throat by a policeman. During police questioning Ms. Oztürk never claimed that she had been kicked.
83. On 11 July 1995 the Hamburg public prosecution office terminated the investigation in respect of police officer H. on the ground of insufficient suspicion that an offence had been committed. The public prosecution office explained its reasons for terminating the criminal proceedings in a detailed letter, in which it was also pointed out that Ms. Oztürk had refused to undergo a medical examination on 6 April 1995 and only went to the doctor on 11 April 1995. It was stated that the doctor confirmed that she had not found anything serious. The police measure carried out by the accused police officer was also said not to have been objectionable from the point of view of the principle of proportionality. Ms. Oztürk did not file a complaint against this notice of termination.
Case No. 1995/13
Allegations
Place: Göttingen (Lower Saxony)
Date: 13 May 1995
84. It has been reported that a Jewish cemetery in Göttingen was damaged by neoNazis; 11 tombstones are said to have been broken on 13 May 1995. The damage is estimated to be around DM 55,000.
85. It is alleged that this desecration had a racist motivation.
Observations
86. On 8 May 1995 unidentified offenders destroyed 11 tombstones of deceased Jews in the Jewish burial-ground in Göttingen municipal cemetery by knocking over tombstones, which then broke. There are indications that this desecration was perpetrated by persons from right-wing extremist circles but there are no indications of the identity of particular individuals. Publication in the media also did not lead to any specific tip-offs. Consequently, the investigation had to be terminated. In its termination order, the Göttingen public prosecution office stated that there were indications that the desecration had been perpetrated by persons from rightwing extremist circles, but that it had not been possible to procure more information regarding particular individuals.
Case No. 1995/14
Identities
Fatma Çirmak (Ms.)
Murat Çirmak (Mr.)
Allegations
Place: Esslingen (Baden-Württemberg)
Date: 16 May 1995
87. It has been reported that there was an arson attack on a building on Rathausplatz No. 11 in Esslingen, entirely occupied by foreigners (Bosnians and Turks) after midnight. The two Turks who lived on the third floor of the building are said to have escaped uninjured. The damage is estimated to be around DM 10,000.
88. The Esslingen police acknowledge that the incident was an arson attack, and they stated that it could be linked to two previous arson attacks in Esslingen (9 April 1995 on Fabrikstrasse and 2 May 1995 on Plochingerstrasse). Those fires had resulted in damage of approximately DM 2.5 million.
89. It is alleged that these attacks were linked to rightwing extremist groups and had racist motivations.
Observations
90. This incident is one of a series of arson attacks in Esslingen. On 9 April 1995 the building at Fabrikstrasse No. 18 in Esslingen, mainly occupied by Turkish and Greek nationals, was largely destroyed in an arson attack. Damage was caused amounting to DM 750,000. The fire brigade were able to rescue the uninjured occupants. The arson attack on 2 May 1995 on the building at Plochingerstrasse No. 120 in Esslingen, occupied partly by repatriates from Poland as well as by people from the former yugoslavia, also led to damage at the level indicated. The occupants were not injured. The building at Rathausplatz No. 11, which was the target of another arson attack in Esslingen on 16 May 1995, was occupied solely by Turkish and Greek nationals. Damage of DM 10,000 was caused, but nobody was injured.
91. Following extensive investigations - rewards were offered amounting to a total of DM 30,000 - a suspect was arrested on 30 June 1995 who has been in remand custody ever since. The 25yearold accused has stated that in the three incidents referred to he was deliberately trying to set fire to the house where Turks were living. He said that he did this because Turks had beaten him up in July 1994 and, in his opinion, had been punished too leniently by the court.
92. In addition, the accused is strongly suspected of committing arson or damage to property in conjunction with arson in at least another 14 cases. According to the results of the investigations conducted, xenophobic motivations can be ruled out in these cases with a degree of probability bordering on certainty. In the light of what is currently known it can also be ruled out that the accused was a member of a right-wing extremist group or maintained contacts with such a group.
93. The public prosecution office's investigations are not over yet.
Case No. 1995/15
Allegations
Place: Darmstadt (Hesse)
Date: 18 May 1995
94. It has been reported that on 18 May 1995 the Darmstadt Special Police Unit, carrying guns and wearing masks, entered the Turkish Islamic Centre on Bleichstrasse (Darmstadt) around 5 p.m. where Turkish people had gathered for prayer. It is stated that the police shouted for everyone to lie on the floor while they conducted a search in the Centre for half an hour, causing serious damage there. They are then said to have taken everyone in the Centre to a nearby police station.
95. The Turks are said to have been interrogated for seven hours and subjected to degrading treatment. They are said to have been released without any explanation.
96. The head of the Darmstadt Police stated that the Special Unit members were conducting an operation against drug dealers and that an inquiry would be commenced into the incident.
Observations
97. From the point of view of the public prosecution office responsible for the investigation, the facts are as follows:
98. After the criminal investigation department of the Darmstadt Police concluded from its investigations that a drug scene had begun to be established in 1994 and that it began to spread at the beginning of 1995, a special working party was set up in the drugs section at Darmstadt Police Headquarters. Following comprehensive preparatory work, arrests of drug sellers and drug seizures, an order was given for a raid to be conducted on 18 May 1995. Seventyone people were provisionally arrested in four Turkish restaurants and in an adjacent mosque; afterwards an order was made for 18 people to be taken into remand custody. The restaurants were closed by order of representatives of Darmstadt Regulatory Office. All in all, 1,700 g heroin, 1,000 g cocaine, 1,700 g of socalled "adulterated drugs", 4 firearms and 200 rounds of live ammunition, and several thousand deutsche marks in cash were found and seized. To increase their sales, the principal accused had even used children flown in specially from Turkey to perform negotiating functions and to take part in the selling of drugs.
99. As far as the search of the mosque was concerned, the police officers involved were given instructions to take care that the religious interests of persons visiting the mosque were not violated. The mosque had to be included in the search, which was ordered by a judge, because it could not be ruled out that these premises had also been used as a cover in the drug trafficking.
100. Neither the persons arrested nor those screened were treated in a degrading manner during this raid. All the people arrested were questioned and given the reason for their arrest. Similarly, they were given the reasons for their release if they were not taken before the judge investigating the case.
101. It follows from these facts that the raid had no "racist" background. The fact that virtually all the people arrested were Turkish nationals (particularly ethnic Kurds), was due to the composition of the drug organization operating on these streets.
General commentary by the Special Rapporteur
102. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the reaction by the Government to the allegations he submitted to it for its observations during 1995; it reflects the constructive spirit of dialogue that characterized his visit to Germany.
103. The Special Rapporteur respects the law and is convinced of the determination of the German people to combat racism and racial discrimination and to bring them under control; accordingly, he places his trust in the courts of Germany, which is a democratic State governed by the rule of law, and which respects the dignity of the human person. He would like to repeat his suggestion to the Government of Germany that the victims of racist, antiSemitic and xenophobic attacks be given fair and equitable compensation, and that, in view of the serious trend of xenophobia, the Government consider compensatory measures for the victims of violence, as is authorized in certain European countries by the law on public security and compensation for victims, which could help to solve the human problems posed by cases 4 to 8.
1. Anti-Semitism is an irrational hatred of the Jewish people. It starts with hostility, grows to prejudice, and from there to agitation, discrimination, and violence against Jews and Jewish institutions. Historically, it has resulted from an effort to demonize the Jewish people because Jews adhere to a religion or culture different in every land except Israel from that of the majority population. Simply put, the antiSemite starts with the thesis that the Jews are different, and concludes that they are bad and even dangerous.
2. AntiSemitism is usually motivated by politics, although at times economics has also played a role. Historically, antiSemitism has been used to instal or help keep a regime in power or, alternatively, to help bring down a regime when a direct attack would be too dangerous. Anti-Semitism has also been inspired by religious leaders who were angered when Jews refused to accept their religious teachings. Under the Catholic Church from Roman to medieval times, Jews were forbidden to own land or join trade guilds because they did not accept the Christian religion. Thus, in Europe for some 1,500 years they were not able to enter vocations by which persons normally earned a livelihood and Christians were taught for centuries that Jews should suffer for having refused conversion to Christianity. The Crusaders on their way to and from the land of Israel were responsible for murdering thousands of Jews, and the Catholic Inquisition was responsible for torturing thousands of Jews to death. (In both cases the victims were frequently robbed, and it was not unknown in the Middle Ages for Christians to murder Jews or to instigate pogroms against them in order to avoid repaying debts.) Mohammed and Luther also inspired antiSemitism when Jews refused to accept their teachings.
3. After the Enlightenment, antiSemitic propagandists developed a secular version of antiSemitism based upon the myth propagated by the Tsarist secret police forgery known as The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. The principal themes of this hate primer are that Jewish people aspire to dominate the world, and that they will achieve world domination through a conspiracy, which entails control of the world's banks and media, as well as infiltration of the Freemasons.
4. For a century The Protocols have remained the most enduring antiSemitic propaganda, adopted both by Hitler and Stalin. Versions of this myth are currently distributed in such distant places as Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and Japan, although Jews in most of these areas constitute much less than 1 per cent of the population and in Japan these myths first infiltrated the country from Japan's enemy Russian during the RussoJapanese War. They have reportedly been financed more recently from the Middle East.
5. The Jews were a vulnerable target for thousands of years because they had been exiled from their homeland and dispersed over much of the world, with no State to protect them, and because they manifested pacifist tendencies, which led them for centuries to resist defending themselves. Although Jews were everywhere an uprooted and unprotected minority, conspiracy theories based on The Protocols claimed, particularly in Europe and the Middle East, that they were a harmful force in the life of the countries in which they resided and that they aspired to economic domination. No amount of factual data disproving these ideas sufficed to convince those who claimed to believe them. Contemporary conspiracy theories found in far right circles assert that Jews are trying to dominate the world by strengthening the United Nations.
6. The term antiSemitism was reportedly coined in 1879 by the German agitator Wilhelm Marr to refer to contemporary antiJewish campaigns in Europe. Some historians distinguish between groups that temporarily adopted antiSemitic attitudes and those founded with the express purpose of fighting "Jewish influence". But it is clear that for centuries the leaders of Western, Central and Eastern Europe used antiSemitism for political purposes. In recent decades antiSemitism has targeted Jews for their support of democracy and pluralism.
7. The storm of antiSemitic violence, culminating in genocide, let loose by the rise to power of the Nazis in Germany was unequalled in modern history. But a variety of developments over the last hundred years indicates that antiSemitism has played and continues to play a role in the politics of modern Europe as a whole. These include the Dreyfus affair in France and, far worse, the pogroms in Tsarist Russia, followed by the virulent antiSemitism of both the White Army and Stalin (though Lenin expressed contempt for Tsarist inspired antiSemitism). Troubling more recently are postCold War manifestations of antiSemitism in Central and Eastern Europe, even though the Jewish communities in those countries have virtually disappeared. Equally disturbing, European colonial officials, travellers, and sometimes missionaries brought their prejudices with them to Latin America, Africa and Asia. Fortunately, the current Pope JohnPaul II has recognized the dangers of this trend and taken steps to reverse it, and noted Church authorities have withdrawn their endorsement of a Catholic version of the Bible which contains antiSemitic commentaries. At the same time, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of North America has forthrightly repudiated the antiSemitic pronouncements and writings of Martin Luther.
8. Nevertheless, the last few years have seen a rise in reported expressions of antiSemitism, including Nazi type swastika daubings, but also hate propaganda on radio and television and the new and sophisticated phenomenon of cyberspace messages of hate. Even more frightening, acts of violence against Jews and Jewish property have also been on the rise, including physical assaults, arson, and terrorist bombings resulting in many deaths in many parts of the world, great psychological distress and economic hardship. The bombings and shootings in North America, South America, and Europe appear to be the work of both neoNazi elements and Islamic extremists.
9. Recognition of the need to combat antiSemitism has come from the Conference (later Organization) on Security and Cooperation in Europe and the Council of Europe. In 1993 the former added antiSemitism to the mandate of the CSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities and the latter, at its Vienna meeting, identified antiSemitism as a social evil and adopted a plan of action to combat racism, xenophobia, and antiSemitism. It also established the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance. A European Parliament resolution of 23 April 1993 was the first to recognize Holocaust denial as an integral part of racist agitation.
10. In March 1993 the United Nations Commission on Human Rights condemned antiSemitism for the first time in three decades, but this was not followed up by the World Conference on Human Rights, despite a recommendation to that effect by the Vienna NGO Forum. The United Nations did, however, create two new posts which were potentially of particular significance. The first was the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the second was the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, who was specifically charged in 1994 with monitoring manifestations of antiSemitism.
11. During the summer of 1994 we submitted to the Special Rapporteur two volumes of research on contemporary forms of antiSemitism, and in the fall of 1994 welcomed the opportunity of discussing the issue with the Special Rapporteur at great length. We thus looked forward to the appearance of the Special Rapporteur's first report.
12. While we were encouraged by parts of the report, we were deeply distressed to find that certain sections contributed to the phenomenon it was written to combat: Paragraph 22 endorsed the view that antiSemitism is "compounded by the economic power of the Jews". Paragraph 37 alleged that antiSemitism is caused because "certain adherents of Judaism continue to treat Christ as an imposter". Paragraph 62 noted that the number of cases of antiSemitic attacks in Germany had risen in the previous two years from 40 to 63, but concluded by minimalizing this number with the gratuitous comment: "Acts directly against Jews have ... increased to a lesser degree than those directed against foreigners in general". Furthermore, the use of the term "in general" conveyed the impression that Jewish citizens of Germany are to be regarded as foreigners. In paragraph 24 the report also lauded the UNESCO Conference on Cultural Policies, held in Mexico City in 1982, for its support of the equal dignity of all cultures and the affirmation of the value of cultural diversity. As participants in that conference, we found that in contrast to earlier UNESCO conferences and exhibits, it excluded any mention of Jewish culture and history.
13. It is our profound hope that these problematic references will be eliminated and that the United Nations will no longer be perceived to be promoting hateful antiSemitic stereotypes. In that regard we respectfully urge the Special Rapporteur to recommend that the Commission on Human Rights, in keeping with the Copenhagen document of the CSCE, propose to the General Assembly that it forcefully condemn antiSemitism and call upon all Member States to do the following: to condemn antiSemitism in all its forms, to enact and implement legislation outlawing racial discrimination and racial incitement to violence, and to sponsor or conduct antibigotry programmes at all educational levels.