The use of racist, antisemitic and xenophobic elements in political discourse High-level panel meeting on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination Paris, 21 March 2005 ECRI: European Commission against Racism and Intolerance November 2005 The opinions expressed in the study on “The use of racist, antisemitic and xenophobic arguments in political discourse”, by Mr Jean-Yves Camus, are the responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy of the Council of Europe or any of the mechanisms or monitoring bodies established by it. ECRI (European Commission against Racism and Intolerance) Council of Europe F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex Tel.: + 33 (0)388 41 2964 Fax:+ 33 (0)388 41 3987 E-mail : [email protected] Internet : http://www.coe.int/ecri/ © Council of Europe, 2005 First printing: November 2005 Photos © Council of Europe, 2005 Printed at the Council of Europe Contents I. Introduction . 5 II.Speeches. 7 Mr Terry Davis, Secretary General of the Council of Europe . .9 Mr Michael Head, Chair of ECRI . 11 Ms Tana de Zulueta, Member of the Parliamentary Assembly. 13 III. Study on the use of racist, antisemitic and xenophobic elements in political discourse . 17 Jean-Yves Camus IV.Appendices. 49 Programme . .51 Participants. .53 ECRI Declaration on the use of racist, antisemitic and xenophobic elements in political discourse . .55 Charter of European Political Parties for a Non-Racist Society. .57 ECRI: European Commission against Racism and Intolerance 3 I. Introduction O n the occasion of the International Day and xenophobia in public opinion in many for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination Council of Europe member states. on 21 March 2005, the European Commis- Immigrants and refugees, especially sion against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) those from Muslim countries, are primary organised a high-level panel meeting on the targets of politicians who exploit feelings of use of racist, antisemitic and xenophobic insecurity in an increasingly complex and elements in political discourse, with the multicultural world. Most worryingly, the participation of the Secretary General of the theory of a so-called “clash of civilisations” is Council of Europe, Mr Terry Davis, the gaining ground. At the same time, Chair of ECRI, Mr Michael Head and antisemitism also continues to be encour- members of the Parliamentary Assembly of aged either openly or in a coded manner by the Council of Europe. certain political leaders and parties. Deeply concerned by the increasing use ECRI therefore suggests in its Declara- of racist, antisemitic and xenophobic ele- tion concrete legal and policy measures, ments in political discourse, including by including self-regulatory measures which mainstream political parties, ECRI adopted can be taken by political parties or national on 17 March 2005 a Declaration condemning parliaments, to be adopted in all Council of this alarming trend which has been Europe member states. observed in many member states of the There is no doubt that political leader- Council of Europe. (The declaration appears ship can play a crucial role in combating in the appendix, p. 55). racism and influencing public opinion in a positive way. It is therefore of the utmost This trend, which is well documented in importance that political parties be involved ECRI’s country monitoring work, was as much as possible in the fight against further substantiated by an independent racism and intolerance as led by ECRI and study commissioned by ECRI in order to other national and international actors in investigate this dangerous phenomenon in this field. This high-level panel meeting, more depth. This study, carried out by the which brought together parliamentarians, political scientist Jean-Yves Camus, pro- representatives of intergovernmental and vides shocking evidence of numerous cases non-governmental organisations, research in which European or national elections centres and academics working on the issue, have given rise to the use of racist, anti- was therefore an important opportunity for semitic and xenophobic rhetoric, or other bringing this issue to the forefront of discourse which has an impact on racism national and international debate. ECRI: European Commission against Racism and Intolerance 5 II. Speeches Mr Terry Davis, Secretary General of the Council of Europe L adies and gentlemen, must be constantly mobilised against As we mark the International Day for these evils and campaign against them not the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, only on one day in the year, but each and let us remember the victims of the Sharpe- every day. ville massacre in South Africa on 21 March We in the Council of Europe have 1960 – the massacre which prompted the created the European Commission against United Nations to commemorate this Day Racism and Intolerance, ECRI, to lead this on 21March every year. Let us remember campaign, and I have come here today to at the same time all the other victims of show my active support for ECRI and its racism throughout the world, past, mission. present and future victims of racist vio- This panel meeting is bringing together lence and racial discrimination in their representatives of intergovernmental and everyday lives. non-governmental organisations, parlia- Racism is a violation of human rights, mentarians and academics, as part of this rooted in dislike for someone who is dif- campaign. The study by Jean-Yves Camus ferent, or contempt for someone who is contains some striking examples of the deemed inferior. When this dislike or con- use of racist rhetoric during national and tempt becomes hatred, it can lead people European elections. Since the report was to commit unspeakable crimes as the written, there have been other examples, horrors of the Second World War and the and there are worrying signs that we will more recent wars in the Balkans and the see something similar in the United South Caucasus showed to the whole Kingdom, one of the founding members of world. the Council of Europe, during the election The Council of Europe was born out of which is widely expected in May. the ashes of the Second World War, out of However, I should like to deliver two the desire encapsulated in two words: messages of confidence: “Never again”. It was intended to build a The first is that of the continual and new Europe, based on the shared values determined commitment of the Council of and principles of pluralist democracy, the Europe to the fight against all forms of rule of law and respect for human rights, a racism. Our action is not limited only to Europe free of racism and racial discrimi- pointing out what is wrong, far from it. nation. We also recommend various measures to Today, the principles on which the remedy the situation, and propose tar- Council of Europe was founded are still geted, concrete solutions. I expect that far from being permanently entrenched. the Chair of ECRI will shortly give us We must continually defend them – and some examples of these solutions. to do so, we must have a sound under- The second message is that of my hope standing of what threatens them. that the sense of responsibility of our poli- Racism and intolerance in all forms – ticians will lead them to resist the tempta- be it antisemitism, Islamophobia or xeno- tion to play with fire. But that in itself in phobia – strike at the heart of the idea of a not enough. At the end of the day, we democratic society based on respect for cannot build a democracy without polit- the equal dignity of all human beings. We ical parties. It is political parties which The use of racist, antisemitic and xenophobic elements in political discourse 9 can and should be our strongest allies in involved in this struggle throughout their achieving a society free of racism. political lives. They should be in the forefront of our Tana de Zulueta is one of them, and I active campaign against racism, xeno- look forward to her contribution as well. phobia, antisemitism and islamophobia. Many European politicians have been Thank you. 10ECRI: European Commission against Racism and Intolerance Mr Michael Head, Chair of ECRI “Taking a stance against the use of racist, antisemitic and xenophobic elements in political discourse” T he findings of Jean-Yves Camus’ research groups. Only a few weeks ago, ECRI pub- confirm just how timely and useful the prep- lished its third report on Austria. This aration of this study was. addresses precisely the link between a ECRI’s mission is to combat racism, certain type of political discourse, the antisemitism, xenophobia and intolerance. decline in the general public’s support for But to do this we have to be able to identify asylum seekers and the adoption and the these phenomena in the varying forms they continuation of policies concerning this assume over time and in different contexts. group of persons, for instance in the areas of These contexts include public debate and, social assistance and use of detention, the within it, political discourse. conformity of which with human rights has been widely questioned. If we want to be effective in proposing viable solutions against the exploitation of Racist or xenophobic political discourse, racism in politics, we need to be able to particularly where it has been fuelled by the detect it: not only when politicians make media, has also already favoured a situation little secret of the prejudice that inspire where discriminatory or even violent behav- their statements or policies; but also when iour directed against certain minority the racist and discriminatory nature of groups is seen as more acceptable. In a statements and policies lies somewhere report on the United Kingdom published in beneath the surface and becomes apparent 2000, ECRI specifically addressed this issue, mainly as a result of time and repetition.