The Coalition Against Hate received recognition as UCSJ leaders briefed the congressional joint Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (the Helsinki Commission) both on the coalition, the current status of hate crimes in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, and the importance of the impunity of hate crimes to assessing rule of law and to the conduct of foreign policy.

UN racism rapporteur Doudou Diene, another witness, concluded, "There is an unmistakable resurgence in racist violence conducted, primarily, but not exclusively, by neo-Nazi groups."

Click "read more" for more text...

Technorati Tags: Coalition Against Hate Micah H. Naftalin Nickolai Butkevich Doudou Diene Helsinki Commission hate crimes

Nickolai Butkevich and I will be briefing the U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe on Tuesday, November 6, 2007. We are honored to be sitting on the same panel as Dr. Dou Dou Diene, the U.N.'s Rapporteur on Racism, and Dr. Tiffany Lightbourn from the Department of Homeland Security.

We have prepared an extensive Briefing Paper for presentation during the briefing. The Paper entitled "Hate Crimes, Rule of Law and Foreign Policy Concerning the Russian Federation, Ukraine and Belarus"  (http://www.fsumonitor.com/stories/UCSJHateCrimesBriefingPaper.pdf) is one we are proud to present to the Commission and to the public as it brings to light the impunity that perpatrators of hate crimes receive in the former Soviet Union.

Read more for more on this story...

Technorati Tags: UCSJ Helsinki Commission CSCE Dou Dou Diene Tiffany Lightbourn Russia Ukraine Belarus hate crime briefing paper

The latest issue of Bigotry Monitor came out last Friday. Incase you haven't had a chance to read it, please do.

The issues that come out after Hitler's birthday always seem to filled with more stories of violence than the other issues. For back issues, please visit UCSJ's Bigotry Monitor Archive.

Technorati Tags: Bigotry Monitor UCSJ FSU

Here's this week's Bigotry Monitor. If you'd like to be directly subscribed to our Bigotry Monitor newsletter, please see the information contained at the bottom of the issue. It will provide you with everything you need to know to un/subscribe.

Technorati Tags: Bigotry Monitor UCSJ FSU

Today you'll find a new issue of Bigotry Monitor on the UCSJ site.

Bigotry Monitor is an internet weekly newsletter that covers events and incidents important to human rights in the former Soviet Union and Europe. You can also received the newsletter in your inbox every week. Just send an email with the subject "subscribe" to ucsj [at] ucsj.com.

Technorati Tags: Bigotry Monitor UCSJ FSU

The latest issue of Bigotry Monitor is here. Highlights include: Neo-fascists march in Moscow, Volzhsk police round up Gypsies, Vladimir prosecutors give up on mosque arson case, and a new report on human rights abuses in Chechnya is released. Info on how to subscribe to Bigotry Monitor is at the bottom of the issue.

Technorati Tags: Bigotry Monitor UCSJ FSU

Wednesday, December 20, 2006. Page 3...

"Foreign intelligence services are increasingly using international nongovernmental organizations and foreign press bureaus in Russia as cover for their agents," Federal Security Service chief Nikolai Patrushev said Tuesday, according to staff writer Simon Saradzhyan, of the Moscow Times,
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2006/12/20/011.html

As UCSJ sees it, given the government's hostility and paranoia about foreign human rights NGOs, Patrushev's accusation that a Danish NGO is collecting "biased information" concerning events in the North Caucasus, is a broad instance of chilling intimidation, calling into question an NGO's independence to report on incidents as they see them.

Technorati Tags: Russia UCSJ spy mania

In Wednesday's exceptional Baker-Hamilton report on Iraq, http://www.usip.org/isg/iraq_study_group_report/report/1206/index.html, like lesser government policy studies, Russia is the un-indicted "elephant." Although the report does not discuss them, there are two matters -- both related to Russia -- that are, in my judgment, indispensable ingredients for success in Iraq, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and elsewhere where terrorists reign.

Technorati Tags: Iraq Report Russia antisemitism xenophobia racism Helsinki Process Putin

A new issue of Bigotry Monitor is available on the UCSJ web site. This weekly electronic based newsletter, made possible through a donation from the Kovler Foundation, features the highlights of everything that happened in the in the world of bigotry.

Not familiar with Bigotry Monitor? Read it for yourself and find out what it's all about.

Technorati Tags: Bigotry Monitor UCSJ