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Resolution 2011 (2014) Final version
Counteraction to manifestations of neo-Nazism and right-wing extremism
1. The Parliamentary Assembly unequivocally
condemns the increasing number of manifestations of neo-Nazism and
right-wing extremism and the rise of neo-Nazi parties and movements
in Europe, some of which have entered parliament at national or
European level. This is not an isolated phenomenon particular to
some Council of Europe member States, but a problem of pan-European
dimension. It often lies dormant in society until conditions favourable
to its emergence arise. It can thus only be effectively tackled
on the basis of shared experience and good practice among member
States.
2. If popular disappointment over harsh economic conditions
and frustration triggered by governmental failure to implement comprehensive
migration policies may, in some cases, partly explain the rising
popularity of neo-Nazi parties as a “protest vote”, this only further
enhances the responsibility of government representatives and democratic
politicians, who should stand up and unite in defending democratic
values. Neo-Nazis should not be ignored; nor should they be turned
into martyrs.
3. Although symbols and structures of the past, such as party
logos reminiscent of swastikas, are still being used, the strategies
of neo-Nazi activists in the public arena are becoming progressively
more sophisticated and thus more difficult to identify and counteract.
The ever-increasing use of the Internet as the main platform for
extremist propaganda and co-ordination makes monitoring and counteraction
even harder.
4. The Assembly notes that the majority of young people who
join right-wing extremist groups do so in their early teens or even
before. Neo-Nazi parties also tend to develop programmes and structures
that particularly attract children not yet of voting age, at schools
or holiday camps.
5. The Assembly therefore believes that in the fight against
neo-Nazism, the focus should be on prevention through education
and awareness raising, and early reaction, at grass-roots level,
to any manifestations of neo-Nazism, whether violent or not, be
they by organised groups or radicalised individuals. Identification
of early signals should allow for timely action against radicalisation
and nip neo-Nazi activities in the bud, before the problem spins
out of control.
6. Experience has shown that, to be effective, timely action
should be co-ordinated by the entire community and accompanied by
a clear political message, at the highest level, that any manifestation
of neo-Nazism, including hate crime and hate speech, cannot be tolerated
in a democratic State governed by the rule of law. Victim support
and support measures for those wishing to leave such extremist movements
are also indispensable tools in counteracting neo-Nazism.
7. In the light of these considerations, and referring to concrete
examples of experience and good practice, the Assembly calls on
member States to:
7.1. design cross-sectoral
strategies to prevent and combat neo-Nazi ideology, including social, economic
and cultural strategies to reduce the breeding grounds for this
ideology;
7.2. develop national action plans and appoint national co-ordinators
against right-wing extremism to provide a framework for and co-ordination
among public institutions at all levels and civil society initiatives;
7.3. promote and support, through regular public funding,
specific civil society initiatives and projects designed to prevent
or combat neo-Nazism or other forms of racism, hatred and anti-Semitism,
in the local arena and everyday life, including online;
7.4. enhance research, including pedagogical research, as
well as international co-operation and exchange of good practice
in the field of preventing and combating neo-Nazism;
7.5. continue to support, including through voluntary contributions,
or start implementing (as appropriate) the Council of Europe campaign
entitled the No Hate Speech Movement, involving young people all
across Europe.
8. More specifically, the Assembly calls on member States:
8.1. as regards prevention, to:
8.1.1. encourage and support, through public funding, joint
and well co-ordinated timely action against radicalisation by the
entire community, including local police and all societal actors,
such as schools, childcare services, parents' groups, mayors and
relevant municipal services, churches, trade unions and professional
organisations, as well as civil society groups, including voluntary
organisations, victim support groups, refugee councils and youth
representatives;
8.1.2. specially train law-enforcement officials in preventive
action and provide and support preventive policing tools (such as
“empowerment conversations”) addressed mainly to teenagers who show
signs of radicalisation and their families;
8.1.3. ensure the continuing development of strategies and technologies
to reduce the influence of social media on the recruitment to and
promotion of neo-Nazism;
8.1.4. ensure that any relevant data, analyses and especially
early signals detected by local actors and civil society are shared
with public institutions and law-enforcement forces engaged in the
prevention of or fight against neo-Nazism, and that they receive
quick and proper attention at political level;
8.2. as regards education, to:
8.2.1. enhance education
for democratic citizenship and human rights awareness measures in
schools, starting from the primary level, thus enabling children
to stand up for democratic values from the outset; this should also
include education against hate speech and in particular its online
forms;
8.2.2. enhance teaching of 20th-century history and in particular
that of the period around the Second World War;
8.2.3. train teachers on human rights and democratic citizenship
and assist parents in actively supporting their children;
8.2.4. support educational projects and teaching methods aimed
at tackling anti-democratic ideologies, such as neo-Nazism and anti-Semitism,
a phenomenon which goes well beyond neo-Nazi groups;
8.3. as regards law enforcement, to:
8.3.1. provide,
and effectively implement, a comprehensive legal framework on hate
speech and hate crime, in line with the specific recommendations
made by the Assembly in its Resolution 1967 (2014) on a strategy
to prevent racism and intolerance in Europe, and those made by other Council
of Europe bodies, notably the European Commission against Racism
and Intolerance (ECRI) and the Council of Europe Commissioner for
Human Rights;
8.3.2. make party leaders and members, including members of
parliament, criminally liable for using hate speech or committing
hate crime or any other criminal offence, reacting in a timely and effective
manner;
8.3.3. train judges, prosecutors and law-enforcement officials
on hate crime and hate speech so that they can also identify crimes
with a neo-Nazi background;
8.3.4. ensure efficient co-operation and co-ordination, based
on regular exchange of information, among the various law-enforcement
bodies;
8.3.5. strike the right balance between the need to protect,
on the one hand, freedom of expression and the right to privacy
of members of right-wing extremist groups and, on the other, the
fundamental rights of democratic groups wishing to react and prevent
or block manifestations organised by right-wing extremists;
8.3.6. ensure accelerated proceedings in the investigation,
prosecution and trial of cases of neo-Nazi violence by adolescents,
in co-operation with the families of the offenders and civil society
networks, focusing on efficient support measures for those wishing
to leave extremist movements, so as to enhance the deterrent effect
on other adolescents;
8.3.7. design strategies for police and intelligence services,
including online policing, to face the special challenges raised
by neo-Nazi hate speech online;
8.4. as regards victim support and witness protection, to:
8.4.1. encourage victims of neo-Nazism and witnesses to speak
up in line with the specific recommendations made by the Assembly
in its Resolution 1967 (2014);
8.4.2. enhance victim support measures, promote victim support
groups and ensure regular public funding for this purpose;
8.4.3. provide specific protection to illegal immigrants who
have been victims of hate crimes until a judicial decision becomes
final;
8.5. as regards support to those wishing to leave extremist
movements, to:
8.5.1. design strategies and programmes
to help and support those wishing to leave neo-Nazi movements, as
well as their families, including by offering ways of changing their
outlook on life, jobs or professional training;
8.5.2. engage former participants in the neo-Nazi sphere with
the necessary personal skills and motivation in efforts to extricate
others;
8.5.3. promote and support, including through regular public
funding, civil society exit projects.
9. The Assembly further urges:
9.1. politicians, both at national and European levels, to
take up the debate with neo-Nazis and expose them publicly by clearly
and unequivocally challenging, rejecting and condemning neo-Nazi ideology
and rhetoric;
9.2. democratic parties to unite around a “democratic consensus”
and unanimously oppose neo-Nazi parties inside and outside national
parliaments;
9.3. national parliaments to:
9.3.1. ensure that
no public funding is allocated to parties promoting hate speech
and hate crime;
9.3.2. adopt codes of conduct including safeguards against hate
speech and hate crime on any grounds.
10. The Assembly invites its members to join and support the
activities of:
10.1. the No Hate
Parliamentary Alliance and all parliamentary groups who work towards
the same objective;
10.2. the national committees set up in the context of the
Council of Europe “No Hate Speech Movement”.
11. In order to raise public awareness against hate crime in
Europe, and to show solidarity with those targeted and those left
to mourn, the Assembly fully supports the initiative by the youth
campaign to make 22 July the “European Day for Victims of Hate Crime”,
in commemoration of the day of the terrorist attacks in Oslo and
on Utøya Island, Norway.