Pia Kauma speaks at the Malta conference on anti-Semitism on 8 April 2024VALLETTA, 9 April 2024 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Pia Kauma (Finland) has addressed the OSCE Conference on Addressing Anti-Semitism in the OSCE Region, emphasizing that anti-Semitism is an affront to fundamental principles of equality, dignity, and human rights, which must be unequivocally condemned.

President Kauma noted that Israel’s military operations in the Gaza Strip, following the unprecedented terrorist attacks by Palestinian groups against Israeli civilians on 7 October 2023, are having widespread impacts in the OSCE area, with large demonstrations across Western Europe and North America coinciding with a concerning uptick in reports of hate speech and hate crimes.

“Recent developments compel us to redouble efforts to address the root causes and mitigate the spread of anti-Semitism,” President Kauma said. “We should therefore always be aware that anti-Semitism grows in the shadows of indifference and complacency.” The PA President called on political leaders to combat anti-Semitism through concrete action.

Joining remotely, OSCE PA Special Representative on Anti-Semitism, Racism and Intolerance, Senator Ben Cardin (United States) reflected on the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the landmark 2004 Berlin Declaration, which recognized anti-Semitism as a threat to democracy, human rights, and the security of the OSCE region and beyond.

Cardin stressed the need to speak out against bigotry, hatred, and attacks against Jews, Muslims, and other minorities whenever and wherever they occur. Parliamentarians, he said, have a special obligation to use their platforms to develop education, law enforcement, and policy initiatives that combat anti-Semitism and other forms of discrimination.

The conference was organized by the Maltese Chairpersonship of the OSCE with the support of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights.

While attending the conference, President Kauma met with families of Israeli abductees being held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, underlining the urgent need to secure their release.

The President also met with the Delegation of Malta to the OSCE PA to discuss ways to reinvigorate the Mediterranean dimension of the OSCE. President Kauma will further highlight the impact of the situation in the Middle East on European security when she attends the regular session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM) in Portugal next month.

For more information on the work of the OSCE PA’s Special Representative on Anti-Semitism, Racism and Intolerance, please click here.

President Pia Kauma’s full remarks to the Malta conference are available here.