The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) ECRI is a regional human rights monitoring mechanism entrusted with the task of combating racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, antisemitism and intolerance “in greater Europe” from the perspective of the protection of human rights. In so far as racism and discrimination based on religion is concerned, ECRI’s mandate refers specifically to antisemitism. Furthermore, it has consistently interpreted the concepts of racism, racial discrimination and intolerance as covering violent crime, hate speech, discrimination and intolerance against all religious groups. According to ECRI’s General Policy Recommendation No. 7, religion is one of the grounds upon which racism and racial discrimination should be prohibited by national legislations. Two out of ECRI’s 14 General Policy Recommendations (guidelines addressed to governments of member States), specifically concern religious minorities: ECRI’s General Policy Recommendation No. 5 deals with intolerance and discrimination against Muslims and recommends, among others, the governments take measures to ensure that freedom of religious practice is fully guaranteed, to eliminate any manifestations of discrimination on grounds of religious belief in access to education, to employment and in the workplace and to ensure that religious instruction in schools respects cultural pluralism. ECRI’s General Policy Recommendation No. 9 deals with the fight against anti-Semitism, recommending that Governments of member States give a high priority to the fight against antisemitism and enact legislation to penalise antisemitic crimes such as the public denial, trivialisation, justification or condoning of the Holocaust and the desecration and profanation of Jewish property and monuments. ECRI reiterates the recommendation made in its General Policy Recommendation No. 7 on national legislation to combat racism and racial discrimination for racist motivation to constitute an aggravating circumstance. In its country reports also, ECRI stresses the importance of the application and development of criminal law provisions and countering racism in public discourse 1 . The public dissemination or public distribution, production or storage aimed at public dissemination or public distribution of written, pictorial or other anti-Semitic material should be criminalised as well.2 Where ECRI identifies instances of religious intolerance in its country reports, it makes recommendations to the Governments concerned on how those problems could be resolved, so that the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion under Article 9 of the ECHR is respected. National legal provisions concerning freedom of conscience and religion that are discriminatory should be repealed3 and practice in the field of religious education should also be in line with the requirements of the European Convention on Human Rights.4 1 See ECRI’s report on Hungary, § 74. See ECRI’s report on Denmark, § 97 and ECRI’s report on Serbia, § 125. In its report on Armenia (§ 93), ECRI recommended that the Bill amending the law on freedom of conscience and religious organisations be definitively withdrawn. In its report on Moldova (§ 151), ECRI recommended that the authorities repeal the discriminatory provisions contained in Article 19 (1) d of the Law on freedom of conscience, thought and religion and Article 54 (4) of the Code of Administrative Offences. 4 See ECRI’s report on Turkey (§ 104). 2 3