JUSTICE - No. 66

27 Spring 2021 recommendations were agreed to by the 34 member states of IHRA in January 2021. The 34 member states of IHRA have agreed upon working definitions of Holocaust Denial and Distortion (2013), Antisemitism (2016), and Antigypsyism/Anti- Roma Discrimination (2020) to serve as practical educational tools and to raise awareness of the issues to which they give rise. Drawing on the expertise of academic and other researchers, the publication is part of a longer-term project to establish how best to counter distortion and denial. It mentions that sixteen IHRA countries have Holocaust denial criminal or civil offence provisions and four others have hate speech provisions. Liaison and observer states also have denial laws, and four non- EU states and the EU itself have similar provisions. In a long-term research report, the effectiveness of criminal and other sanctions against deniers will be examined. Other Initiatives In September 2019, the UN Special Representative on freedom of religion or belief, Dr. Ahmed Shaheed, submitted to the UN General Assembly (UNGA) a report on antisemitism. During the course of 2019, he had consulted with state parties, Jewish communities, and international Jewish organizations, seeking their views and reports on antisemitism. Twenty-two states responded to a questionnaire circulated to UN member states that included questions on legal protections and measures for identifying, monitoring and responding to incidents that constitute incitement, hostility and violence against Jews. Dr. Shaheed noted that while there is a surge in religiously motivated hate speech or hate crimes and violence, data collection on antisemitic incidents, although improving, is still poor in many parts of the world. He noted that in addition to suffering from antisemitic incidents and crimes, Jews may be harassed and socially excluded, thereby their right to freedom of religion or belief being violated. 19 Starting with a demographic survey of Jewish populations and a review of historical anti-Jewish narratives and tropes, Dr. Shaheed reviewed some significant trends in contemporary rhetoric. In particular, he expressed alarm at the growing use of such tropes by white supremacists, radical Islamists as well as “left wing” antisemites. His office continues to monitor antisemitism. The United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) was established in 2005, on the initiative of former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. It is a High-Level Group of Experts formed to explore the roots of polarization between societies and cultures today, and to recommend a practical program of action to address these issues. In January 2019, Miguel Ángel Moratinos, the former Spanish Foreign Minister, assumed the position of High Representative for the UNAOC, and in February 2020, he was also designated by the United Nations Secretary- General as the UN Focal Point to monitor antisemitism and enhance a system-wide-response. This is the first time that the UN has designated a single point of contact to combat antisemitism. He presented his initial findings at a conference on Exploring Holistic Approaches to Combating Antisemitism on March 15, 2021, and noted that governments must invest more in preventing extremism and building resilient and cohesive societies. 20 In 2018, the UN General Assembly requested that UNESCO take on the task of combating antisemitism from its education perspective and it has made substantial progress. It recognized that addressing antisemitism is“both an immediate security imperative and a long-term educational investment to promote human rights and global citizenship.” 21 At a High Level event at the 73rd UN General Assembly in September 2018, the UN Secretary General announced a program based on four priorities: recognition of antisemitism as a problem to be addressed internationally; development of educational programs that address antisemitism in a framework of human rights and global citizenship; building the capacity of educational systems to address antisemitism, conspiracy theories and all other forms of hate speech; and increasing investment in promoting social cohesion. 22 In line with these priorities, UNESCO has developed programs and policy guidelines in several languages to 19. Report of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, A/74/358, UN General Assembly, Sept. 20, 2019, available at https://undocs.org/A/74/358 20. https://www.unaoc.org/wp-content/uploads/Program- Exploring-Holistic-Approaches-to-Combating- Antisemitism-15.03.pdf 21. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization,“PreventingViolent Extremism: Addressing antisemitism through education,” available at https:// en.unesco.org/preventing-violent-extremism/education/ antisemitism 22. Ibid .