Flags at the conference venue. Photo: Marian Liebmann.
‘Many countries are only just beginning to see hate crime as something specific to counteract.’
This year’s session of the United Nations Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice took place in Vienna in May. Marian Liebmann was there on behalf of Friends World Committee for Consultation
The United Nations Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) guides the activities of the United Nations in the field of crime prevention and criminal justice. It also reviews United Nations standards and norms in this area, including their use and application by member states. The theme for discussion this year was: ‘The responsibility of effective, fair, humane and accountable criminal justice systems in preventing and countering crime motivated by intolerance or discrimination of any kind.’
This was clearly of interest to Quakers, as both hate crime and discrimination deny the fundamental equality of all human beings.
This year I was the only one able to attend out of our usual team of three. It was a busy time – attending workshops, talks, the main plenary sessions, the resolutions, and making contact with other faith-based organisations and NGOs. I tried to attend as many sessions as possible on hate crime: prevention, detection and apprehension. Many countries are only just beginning to see hate crime as something specific to counteract.
I had been able to book a ‘side event’ in the NGO programme alongside the main country delegates’ programme. My workshop was entitled ‘A Restorative Approach to Hate Crime and Discrimination’ and was scheduled for the last day. In this session I presented research and case studies about the ways in which a restorative approach can help victims to feel heard, help offenders to understand the impact of their actions, and clear up misunderstandings.
I also delivered a statement to the plenary session on the second day. Prior to speaking I sent the draft to the Friends World Committee for Consultation World Office, Britain Yearly Meeting, the Quaker United Nations Offices in New York and Geneva, and the American Friends Service Committee, so that I could be confident I was speaking on behalf of Quakers worldwide.
Meanwhile, I had to get permission to speak from the secretariat servicing the plenary session. I then had to email the statement and provide a printed copy – not so easy when there is only one printer for all NGOs and no photocopying facilities anywhere in the building! Fortunately consent came through from all the organisations just in time.
The Friends World Committee for Consultation applauds the selection of this theme for the CCPCJ 2019.
We also applaud the increased efforts to tackle hate crime and hate incidents, whether by prevention, disruption or reduction. We know that they cause significant harm to victims.
Many jurisdictions now regard hate crimes as aggravated offences carrying stiffer sentences. This indicates society’s disapproval and strengthens positive social norms.
We would also like to draw attention to the potential of a restorative approach in some cases… Research has shown the benefit of this approach in this area.
Restorative justice brings together, either directly or indirectly, those who have been harmed with those who have perpetrated the harm, in a meeting organised and led by trained facilitators.
There are several services in the UK (usually in the NGO sector) which provide restorative services for hate crimes and hate incidents. They help participants to discuss what has happened, explore why the incidents have occurred, allow time for participants to explain how the incident has affected them, facilitate resolving the incident and repairing the harm, and prevent future incidents. There is usually a written agreement outlining undertakings.
In addition there are several projects working with schoolchildren, at both primary and secondary levels. They need our support, as there is great potential in helping young people to develop respect for everyone.
We would also like to draw your attention to the work of the Quaker Council for European Affairs. They did a report on xenophobia and hate crime in Europe in 2018, focused on incitements to violence in the comments below online newspaper articles. They are currently running a website, www.chooserespect.eu, that monitors hate speech in the run-up to the European elections.
This statement will also become part of the record of the whole session. In this way Quakers have the privilege of being able to influence world views in a small but significant way.
