Tolerance and non-discrimination The Director of the Office of the High Commissioner on National Minorities, Amb. Brendan Moran, moderates a session on tolerance and non-discrimination at the OSCE’s Review Conference in Warsaw, 6 October, as ODIHR’s Larry Olomofe listens in. (OSCE/Curtis Budden) Participants were also encouraged to identify ways that the various tools ODIHR has established to combat hate crime can be used to support states’ ongoing efforts in this area. Reviewing Legislation ODIHR provides reviews of anti-discrimination and hate crime legislation and of laws related to freedom of religion or belief upon the request of participating States. The aim of this activity is to help lawmakers ensure that legislation is in line with OSCE commitments and other international standards and to identify potential areas of concern and provide constructive comments on how these might be addressed. ODIHR bases these reviews on Hate Crime Laws: A Practical Guide, published by the office in 2009. The Practical Guide is available in English, German, Romanian and Russian. ODIHR was invited by the Russian Ombdusman’s Office for a one-day presentation and discussion of the Guide in Moscow on 10 March, in which representatives from the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Interior Ministry and civil society also took part. In 2010, ODIHR reviewed draft anti-discrimination legislation and draft amendments to the Criminal Code of Moldova related to hate crime. ODIHR’s recommendations were discussed during a workshop attended by prosecutors and representatives from the Ministry of Justice and civil society in Chisinau on 23 June. Additionally, ODIHR provided comments on the draft law on the prohibition of discrimination in Montenegro. ODIHR also responded to requests for legislative reviews related to freedom of religion or belief. In June, at the request of the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat, ODIHR completed its Comments on the Law of Turkmenistan on Religious Freedom and Religious Organizations. In December, an interim joint opinion was prepared with the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission on amendments and supplements to Armenia’s Law on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations, Criminal Code, Administrative Offenses Code and Law on Charity. Supporting Law-Enforcement Agencies in Their Efforts to Tackle Hate Crimes Understanding Hate Crimes, a series of country-specific handbooks ODIHR also continued to develop its guides and tools to help address hate crime. In addition to a factsheet outlining the concept of hate crime and the resources ODIHR can provide, (ODIHR and the Battle Against Hate Crime), the Office developed a series of country-specific versions of the booklet Understanding Hate Crimes. The booklet is aimed at helping police, prosecutors, government officials and NGOs better ODIHR Annual Report 2010 49