§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what conclusions were reached at the OSCE conference on racism and anti-semitism on 16–17 June in Paris; what practical steps he expects to be taken following the conference, with particular reference to the internet; and if he will make a statement. [180351]
§ Mr. RammellThe OSCE Meeting on the Relationship between Racist, Xenophobic and anti-Semitic Propaganda on the Internet and Hate Crimes looked at a variety of methods to address this issue including monitoring, self-regulation, legislation, and raising awareness in the community and among young people. The views of participating states varied widely, particularly over the balance to be struck between freedom of expression and combating hate speech. We expect the final report of the conference to issue within a month. The report will be discussed at the OSCE's Human Dimension Implementation Meeting in October, along with the reports of the Anti-Semitism Conference held in Berlin in April and the Racism, Xenophobia and Discrimination Conference held in Brussels in September. OSCE participating states are then likely to reach a decision on political commitments on tolerance at the Ministerial meeting due to be held in Sofia in December.