Fuente: © Council of Europe
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Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights issues statement on International Day of Tolerance

/noticias.info/ Strasbourg, 15.11.2006 - On the occasion of the International Day of Tolerance (16 November), Commissioner Thomas Hammarberg stressed that European governments needs to take stronger action to ensure that the current increase in Xenophobia, Islamophobia and anti-Tziganism is curtailed.

"I fear that if European governments do not take stronger action, these trends will become irreversible," the Commissioner said. "Governments should actively protect the ideals on which most of Europe has been built. It has to be recognised that the weakened social support structures as well as unemployment are among the root causes of some xenophobic tendencies. Economic policies which ignore the social dimension have destructive consequences. Governments should thus manage Europe's quest for a new place in the globalising world without further damaging this key pillar of the European social system. It is also important to add that firm legal measures are urgently needed to counter hate crimes, and the basic school curricula should be reviewed to include guidance to children on respecting those who are different."

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