26 February 2024 – OSCE PA Special Representative on Anti-Semitism, Racism and Intolerance, Senator Ben Cardin (United States) concluded a three-day visit to France and Germany on 18 February. Cardin held a series of meetings in Paris and Munich with various stakeholders, including parliamentarians, government officials, and interfaith leaders amid an alarming spike in the United States and Europe of antisemitic incidents and increased threats and hateful speech against Muslims.
In Paris, Special Representative Cardin met with Didier Paris, Head of France’s Delegation to the OSCE PA and other legislators, U.S. Ambassador to France Denise Campbell Bauer, and religious community leaders to encourage collective efforts to advance programs and policies to combat antisemitism and other forms of hate and religious discrimination, including anti-Muslim bias.
“Community solidarity is critical to overcoming the hatred and intolerance – antisemitism, anti-Muslim sentiment, and racism – that darken our societies,” Cardin said. “It is more important than ever that we speak together in one voice.”
Special Representative Cardin stressed the twin roles of dialogue and education to build peaceful, inclusive societies.
“Auschwitz, Birkenau, and other concentration camps were liberated about 15 months after I was born. While I was too young to remember the headlines, I did hear stories of life and death from survivors firsthand,” he said.
“We need to teach future generations the lessons of the Holocaust so they understand the violence that can be unleashed when hatred goes unchecked. As democratically elected legislators, we parliamentarians have a special obligation to be visibly engaged in this effort to lead our societies toward better mutual understanding across communities.”
At the Munich Security Forum and at a Shabbat dinner organized by the World Jewish Congress and attended also by the United States’ Special Envoy on Monitoring and Combatting Antisemitism, Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt, Special Representative Cardin recalled the principles of OSCE’s Berlin Declaration. The Berlin Declaration, which turns 20 this year, recognized antisemitism as a threat to democracy, human rights, and security of the OSCE region and beyond.
At every opportunity, Special Representative Cardin highlighted the importance of individual responsibility to transform OSCE commitments into action. Elected officials and other community leaders, he added, bear an additional responsibility to address these issues.
“We must not be silent. Each of us has an obligation to speak out, correct disinformation, and reject prejudice.” He added, “As parliamentarians, we must use the platforms our offices provide to combat hatred in all forms through education, law enforcement, and policy initiatives.”
For more information on the work of Special Representative Cardin, please click here.
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