1. Racism, xenophobia, intolerance, antisemitism or discrimination on the grounds of origin, nationality, religion or belief, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or any other grounds run counter to the values of the EU, of the OSCE and of human rights. Attacks on people for what they look like, what they believe, who they are or whom they love are criminal offences and punishable by law.
2. In combatting all forms of intolerance, the EU promotes a comprehensive approach, such as acknowledged by the participating States in 2007 in Madrid. A selective and fragmented approach would be in contradiction with the universality of human rights.
3. The EU is strongly committed to the promotion of equality and tolerance and to the fight against hate speech and all forms of discrimination, as shown by the comprehensive legislative texts and measures recently adopted on this matter, both at the EU and national levels, including the EU Anti-Racism Action Plan, the Gender Action Plan III, the EC LGBTIQ Equality Strategy, the European Disability Strategy, the Roma strategic Framework, and the European antisemitism strategy. The Digital Services Act adopted last year and the current work to extend the list of ‘EU crimes' to hate speech and hate crime will also contribute to better address intolerance and discrimination, especially online.
4. We remain concerned about the negative impact of the Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, including in the Ukrainian territories temporarily and illegally occupied by Russia, as well as in Russia itself, on persons belonging to national and ethnic minorities and LGBTIQ persons, as provided in the Moscow Mechanism report. These people face repression and discrimination. Intense fighting in regions with high number of national and ethnic minorities put these persons, their culture and language in danger.
5. We are also deeply concerned about accounts of pressuring persons living in the temporarily and illegally occupied territories of Ukraine to take up Russian passports, making it a condition for “employment in public institutions, benefits, humanitarian aid, access to health, or education for children”, as stated in the third ODIHR Interim Report. Russia’s practice of forcibly issuing Russian passports to Ukrainian citizens in the illegally and temporarily occupied parts of Ukraine is in a blatant violation of international law and undermines Ukraine’s sovereignty.

        Recommendations:

• Ensure that everyone enjoys human rights and fundamental freedoms and has access to effective remedies in the event of discrimination, by providing better knowledge of the existing international legal tools;
• Encourage learning about diversity, dialogue and tolerance;
• Systematically condemn hate speech and strengthen the fight against hate speech on the internet while also fully respecting freedom of expression;
• Cooperate with ODIHR in preventing and combating all forms of intolerance, support its activities, providing relevant data to feed its reporting on hate crimes;
• Ensure an inclusive approach to the fight against racism, xenophobia, intolerance and discrimination, as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;
• Take better account of and combat multiple forms of discrimination in the fight against intolerance, as stressed in the 2007 Madrid MC Decision;
• Support the work of civil society in preventing and combating racism, xenophobia, intolerance and discrimination;
• Encourage increased coordination of the work of the CiO Personal Representatives among themselves and with the ODIHR in the framework of an inclusive and effective approach.

The Candidate Countries NORTH MACEDONIA*, MONTENEGRO*, ALBANIA*, UKRAINE, the REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA, and BOSNIA and HERZEGOVINA*, the Potential Candidate Country GEORGIA, and the EFTA countries ICELAND and LIECHTENSTEIN, members of the European Economic Area, as well as ANDORRA and SAN MARINO align themselves with this statement.

* North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.