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118. In an effort to combat anti-Semitism, the European Commission marked, for
the second time, the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims
of the Holocaust.
B.
Council of Europe
119. Following a visit to Greece, the Commissioner for Human Rights of the
Council of Europe provided a detailed submission in which he noted that, in
addition to migrants, other social groups such as Roma, members of the Muslim
minority of Turkish ethnic origin, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons and
human rights defenders had been targeted through hate speech and violence.
120. The Commissioner reported on cases of ill-treatment, including torture,
committed by law enforcement officers against migrants and Roma. Regrettably,
rhetoric stigmatizing migrants has been widely used in Greek politics and
immigration control measures have led to further stigmatization of migrants. In
addition, access to justice and effective remedies for victims have been constrained
by excessively lengthy judicial proceedings.
121. Reference was made to the newly established post of the anti-racism
prosecutor in Athens, which needs particular reinforcement and expansion to other
regions so that the anti-racism law is effectively applied throughout the country. It
was further stated that the establishment of 70 new anti-racist units and a hotline for
reporting racist incidents were welcome steps forward.
C.
International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists
122. Information was provided about the extreme right-wing party, Golden Dawn,
which received 6.7 per cent of the votes in the recent national elections in Greece by
promoting fascist and Nazi ideology, advocating violence and supporting attacks on
vulnerable groups.
123. Attention was also drawn to incidents in which public figures made numerous
anti-Semitic statements in various part of the world, including Eastern Europe and
Latin America. In some of those statements, Jews were accused of practising ritual
killings. In one country, parliamentarians have taken genetic tests to prove that they
have no Jewish or Roma ancestors and a public demand was made by a
parliamentarians that a list of all Jewish government officials be produced so that
they could be distinguished as posing a national security risk.
D.
German Institute for Human Rights
124. The national human rights institution emphasized the importance of penalizing
the approval, denial or belittlement of the Holocaust in national law, given that
denial could potentially promote racist ideologies and hence constitute hate speech
under article 4 (a) of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms
of Racial Discrimination.
125. The Institute also noted that section 130 (3) of the German penal code
penalizes the approval, denial or belittlement of the Holocaust.
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