New York, NY,  March 23, 2009 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) welcomed the release of new guidance designed to establish a common framework for improving responses to hate crimes among member nations of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

Hate Crime Laws: A Practical Guide, released by the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, provides practical advice for lawmakers, community organizations and law enforcement for responding to bias crimes.  

"Most OSCE nations currently do not have hate crime laws on the books or any framework for addressing bias motivated violence," said Glen S. Lewy, ADL National Chair and Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director.  "This important resource seeks to fill the void with practical and accessible advice while reflecting the many different legal systems and traditions among the 56 countries of the OSCE."

Developed with input from an international team of judges, prosecutors, human rights officials, representatives of international non-governmental organizations and officials from foreign ministries and justice ministries in a dozen OSCE nations, the guide has been already been used by ODIHR as the basis for legislative reviews and training sessions and has been translated into several languages, including French, Russian and German.

Last week, ADL participated in the launch event in Vienna, Austria, as well as a roundtable discussion on racism and discrimination as part of a series of OSCE events marking the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. 

Over the last five years, ADL has taken a leadership role in presenting resources and recommendations to the OSCE on confronting anti-Semitism, anti-bias education, hate crime data collection, combating youth violence, hate on the Internet, and Holocaust education.