Following is the text of The Ottawa Protocol on Combating Antisemitism and select background materials.
We, Representatives of our respective Parliaments from across the world, convening in Ottawa for the second Conference and Summit of the Inter-parliamentary Coalition for Combating Antisemitism, note and reaffirm the London Declaration on Combating Antisemitism as a template document for the fight against antisemitism.
We are concerned that, since the London Conference in February 2009, there continues to be adramatic increase in recorded antisemitic hate crimes and attacks targeting Jewish persons and property, and Jewish religious, educational and communal institutions.
We remain alarmed by ongoing state-sanctioned genocidal antisemitism and related extremist ideologies. If antisemitism is the most enduring of hatreds, and genocide is the most horrific of crimes, then the convergence of the genocidal intent embodied in antisemitic ideology is the most toxic of combinations.
We are appalled by the resurgence of the classic anti-Jewish libels, including:
We are alarmed by the explosion of antisemitism and hate on the Internet, a medium crucial for the promotion and protection of freedom of expression, freedom of information, and the participation of civil society.
We are concerned over the failure of most OSCE participating states to fully implement provisions of the 2004 Berlin Declaration, including the commitment to:
“Collect and maintain reliable information and statistics about antisemitic crimes, and other hate crimes, committed within their territory, report such information periodically to the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), and make this information available to the public.”
We are concerned by the reported incidents of antisemitism on campuses, such as acts of violence, verbal abuse, rank intolerance, and assaults on those committed to free inquiry, while undermining fundamental academic values.
We renew our call for national governments, parliaments, international institutions, political and civic leaders, NGOs, and civil society to affirm democratic and human values, build societies based on respect and citizenship and combat any manifestations of antisemitism and all form sof discrimination.
We reaffirm the EUMC – now Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) – working definition of antisemitism, which sets forth that:
Examples of the ways in which antisemitism manifests itself with regard to the State of Israel taking into account the overall context could include:
Let it be clear: Criticism of Israel is not antisemitic, and saying so is wrong. But singling Israel out for selective condemnation and opprobrium – let alone denying its right to exist or seeking its destruction – is discriminatory and hateful, and not saying so is dishonest.
Members of Parliament meeting in Ottawa commit to:
Calling on our governments to uphold international commitments on combating antisemitism -such as the OSCE Berlin Principles – and to engage with the United Nations for that purpose. In the words of former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, “It is […] rightly said that the United Nations emerged from the ashes of the Holocaust. And a human rights agenda that fails to address antisemitism denies its own history”;Calling on parliaments and governments to adopt the EUMC working definition and anchor its enforcement in existing law;
Encouraging countries throughout the world to establish mechanisms for reporting and monitoring on domestic and international antisemitism, along the lines of the “Combating Antisemitism Act of 2010” recently introduced in the United States Congress;
Encouraging the leaders of all religious faiths – represented also at this Conference – to use all means possible to combat antisemitism and all forms of hatred and discrimination;
Calling on the Parliamentary Forum of the Community of Democracies to make the combating of hatred and antisemitism a priority in their work;
Calling on Governments and Parliamentarians to reaffirm and implement the Genocide Convention, recognising that where there is incitement to genocide, State parties have an obligation to act;
Working with universities to encourage them to combat antisemitism with the same seriousness with which they confront other forms of hate. Specifically, universities should be invited to define antisemitism clearly, provide specific examples, and enforce conduct codes firmly, while ensuring compliance with freedom of speech and the principle of academic freedom.Universities should use the EUMC Working Definition of Antisemitism as a basis for education,training and orientation. Indeed, there should be zero tolerance for discrimination of any kind against anyone in the university community on the basis of race, gender, religion, ethnic origin, sexual orientation or political position;
We encourage the European Union to promote civic education and open society in its European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) and to link funding to democratic development and respect for human rights in ENP partner countries;
Establishing an International Task Force of Internet specialists comprised of parliamentarians and experts to create common indicators to identify and monitor antisemitism and other manifestations of hate online and to develop policy recommendations for Governments and international frameworks to address these problems;
Building on the African representation at this Conference, to develop increased working relationships with Parliamentarians in Africa for the combating of racism and antisemitism;
We urge the incoming OSCE Chair, Lithuania, to make implementation of these commitments a priority during 2011 and call for the reappointment of the Special Representatives to assist in this work.
Ottawa, September 19, 2011 — Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney and Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird today signed the Ottawa Protocol on Combating Antisemitism.
The Protocol is an action plan developed during the second annual conference of the Inter-parliamentary Coalition for Combating Antisemitism (ICCA) which took place in Ottawa in November, 2010. Signing it demonstrates the Government of Canada’s support for it and a commitment to its goals.
“The Government of Canada is a leader in the fight against anti-Semitism,” said Minister Kenney. “The Ottawa Protocol complements what Canada is already doing to combat hatred and discrimination, including anti-Semitism. We are a member of the Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research. Here at home, we have launched programs to promote integration and social cohesion of Canadians from all backgrounds.”
The Protocol will help nations to measure and articulate their progress in combating anti-Semitism. It calls for leaders of faith groups to combat hatred and discrimination, including anti-Semitism; governments to reaffirm and implement the United Nations’ 1948 Genocide Convention; the establishment of an international task force to identify and monitor hate on the Internet and the development of a comprehensive system to record all hate crimes, including anti-Semitic ones.
“Signing the Ottawa Protocol signals our continued commitment to leading a coordinated global effort to fight anti-Semitism,” said Minister Baird. “Just as Canada is moving ahead to develop and build a National Holocaust Monument in the National Capital Region, we also plan to take our commitment to parliamentarians around the world and suggest that they join us in signing the Protocol.”
The Ministers added that the Government of Canada’s commitment to combating anti-Semitism is why Canada will not participate in the events later this month to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the adoption of the Durban Declaration and Program of Action, sometimes called Durban III.
“Our government has lost faith in the Durban process and will not take part in this event, which commemorates events that have promoted racism rather than combat it,” noted Minister Kenney.
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Photo of Minister Kenney will be available later today at: www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/media/photos/high-res/index.asp
For further information (media only), please contact:
Candice Malcolm
Minister’s Office
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
Media Relations
Communications Branch
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
613-952-1650
CIC-Media-Relations@cic.gc.ca
Foreign Affairs Media Relations Office
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada
613-995-1874
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July 7, 2011
“At a time when Canada is witnessing an unprecedented increase in antisemitic incidents and hateful discourse,” said Mario Silva, Chair of the Inquiry Panel. “The release of the CPCCA report could not be timelier.
After two years of investigation and hearings, the Inquiry Panel’s conclusion, unfortunately, is that the scourge of antisemitism is a growing threat in Canada, especially on the campuses of our universities. The Inquiry Panel has made several recommendations to the Government of Canada. Among these recommendations are the training of police forces across Canada in how better to deal with antisemitism; the sponsorship of conferences at universities that seek to counter antisemitic events, such as “Israeli Apartheid Week”; and the adoption of a clear and concise definition of what antisemitism entails.
“Our work on the Inquiry Panel final report has taken us over two years to complete,” said Mario Silva. “And we are calling on the Government of Canada to take our recommendations under serious consideration to combat the wave of antisemitism we are witnessing in our nation. Canada is founded on a set of shared values and antisemitism is an affront to all we stand for in this country.”
CANADIAN PARLIAMENTARY COALITION TO COMBAT ANTISEMITISM
Inquiry Panel
Steering Committee
Ex-officio Members
Secretariat
TABLE OF CONTENTS
The full report follows. Read on here:
REPORT-OF-THE-INQUIRY-PANEL-CANADIAN-PARLIAMENTARY-COALITION-TO-COMBAT-ANTISEMITISM Download
“Globalized antisemitism is a thriving international enterprise that transverses cultures and civilizations. You can help us fight the this most enduring, pervasive, and lethal mode of hatred.”
Raheel Raza
Donate“No other widespread prejudice has characterized people as such cosmological threats…. No other prejudicial discourse has been so eliminationist or produced such regular calls for violence and extermination.”
Prof. Daniel Jonah Goldhagen
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