European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation
Encyclopedia
The European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation (also ECTR) was established in Paris
, France
on October 7, 2008 to monitor tolerance
in Europe
. The Chairman of the Council is former President of Poland Aleksander Kwaśniewski
, and the Co-chairman is President of the European Jewish Congress
Viatcheslav Moshe Kantor
.
As a tolerance watchdog, the ECTR prepares practical recommendations to governments and international organisations on improving interreligious and interethnic relations on the continent. The Council is one of few international organisations focused on fighting xenophobia
, anti-Semitism
and racial discrimination in the modern world.
The ECTR includes such notable political and public figures as:
On November 9–16, 2008, the ECTR was among initiators and organisers of a series of events held as part of the European Week of Tolerance on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of die Kristallnacht
and International Day for Tolerance
. In the course of official events the ECTR presented a draft European Framework Convention on Promoting Tolerance and Combating Intolerance and the Concept for a White Paper on Tolerance to the European Parliament
. Both of these innovative conventions have great significance for promoting tolerance
in Europe
.
The European Week of Tolerance was co-organised by the ECTR, the European Jewish Congress
, the European Parliament
, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
, the Russian Jewish Congress
, the World Holocaust Forum Foundation
and the Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority Yad Vashem
.
In 2008, the ECTR established a European tolerance prize called the Medal of Tolerance. The purpose of the prize is to honour the extraordinary creative achievements of outstanding activists who promote tolerance and reconciliation in Europe, as well as fighting xenophobia
and racial and religious discrimination. The Medal of Tolerance may also be awarded to the families of individuals who have lost their lives in the struggle against extremism
and intolerance
.
The First European medal of tolerance was conferred on October 11, 2010 on the King of Spain
Juan Carlos I for his lifelong dedication and devotion to the issue of tolerance and political reconciliation.
The ECTR was one of the initiators and organisers of the international conference “Towards Reconciliation
. Experiences, Techniques and Opportunities for Europe
” held on October 24-25, 2010, in Dubrovnik
, Croatia
. The gathering brought together current and former heads of European nations to collect European experience in reconciliation
, and offer them to the Balkan nations.
The ECTR held a Round Table Meeting in Moscow on October 25, 2011. Russian and international experts discussed issues of paramount importance connected with the current status, aspects and promotion of tolerance
in Europe and in Russia. The experts also touched on such topics as the boundaries of tolerance
, nuclear tolerance and secure tolerance in order to prevent a clash of civilisations. The ECTR’s initiative to establish a Centre for Tolerance and Security at a leading European university was also discussed at this meeting.
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
on October 7, 2008 to monitor tolerance
Toleration
Toleration is "the practice of deliberately allowing or permitting a thing of which one disapproves. One can meaningfully speak of tolerating, ie of allowing or permitting, only if one is in a position to disallow”. It has also been defined as "to bear or endure" or "to nourish, sustain or preserve"...
in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. The Chairman of the Council is former President of Poland Aleksander Kwaśniewski
Aleksander Kwasniewski
Aleksander Kwaśniewski is a Polish politician who served as the President of Poland from 1995 to 2005. He was born in Białogard, and during communist rule he was active in the Socialist Union of Polish Students and was the Minister for Sport in the communist government in the 1980s...
, and the Co-chairman is President of the European Jewish Congress
European Jewish Congress
The European Jewish Congress, , was founded in 1986. It is based in Paris, with offices in Brussels, Strasbourg, Berlin and Budapest...
Viatcheslav Moshe Kantor
Viatcheslav Moshe Kantor
Viatcheslav Moshe Kantor is a prominent public figure, businessman and philanthropist who actively participates in the promotion of tolerance and reconciliation in the modern world. He is also engaged in discussing and elaborating ways to stop nuclear proliferation and prevent a nuclear catastrophe...
.
As a tolerance watchdog, the ECTR prepares practical recommendations to governments and international organisations on improving interreligious and interethnic relations on the continent. The Council is one of few international organisations focused on fighting xenophobia
Xenophobia
Xenophobia is defined as "an unreasonable fear of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange". It comes from the Greek words ξένος , meaning "stranger," "foreigner" and φόβος , meaning "fear."...
, anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
and racial discrimination in the modern world.
The ECTR includes such notable political and public figures as:
- José María AznarJosé María AznarJosé María Alfredo Aznar López served as the Prime Minister of Spain from 1996 to 2004. He is on the board of directors of News Corporation.-Early life:...
, former Prime Minister of SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
; - Erhard BusekErhard BusekErhard Busek is a politician from the Christian-conservative People's Party . At present he is Coordinator of the South-Eastern Cooperative Initiative and Chairman of the Institute for Danube Region and Central Europe among other things.Busek was chief of the party and Vice-Chancellor of Austria...
, former Vice-Chancellor of the Republic of AustriaAustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
; - George Vassiliou, former President of the Republic of CyprusCyprusCyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
; - Vaira Vīķe-FreibergaVaira Vike-FreibergaVaira Vīķe-Freiberga was the sixth President of Latvia, the first female President of Latvia and the first female leader in eastern Europe. She was elected President of Latvia in 1999 and re-elected in 2003.Dr...
, former President of the Republic of LatviaLatviaLatvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
; - Václav HavelVáclav HavelVáclav Havel is a Czech playwright, essayist, poet, dissident and politician. He was the tenth and last President of Czechoslovakia and the first President of the Czech Republic . He has written over twenty plays and numerous non-fiction works, translated internationally...
, former President of the Czech RepublicCzech RepublicThe Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
; - Rita SüssmuthRita SüssmuthRita Süssmuth is a German politician and a member of the Christian Democratic Union .From 1985 to 1988, Süssmuth was Federal Minister of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth under Chancellor Helmut Kohl. She was a member of the German Bundestag from 1987 to 2002...
, former Speaker of the German BundestagBundestagThe Bundestag is a federal legislative body in Germany. In practice Germany is governed by a bicameral legislature, of which the Bundestag serves as the lower house and the Bundesrat the upper house. The Bundestag is established by the German Basic Law of 1949, as the successor to the earlier...
; - Igor IvanovIgor IvanovIgor Sergeyevich Ivanov is a Russian politician and was Russian Foreign Minister from 1998 to 2004.- Early life :...
, former Foreign Minister and Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, Professor of MGIMO-University; - Milan KučanMilan KucanMilan Kučan is a Slovenian politician and statesman. He was the first President of Slovenia.-Early life and political beginnings:...
, former President of SloveniaSloveniaSlovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
; - Alfred MoisiuAlfred Moisiuwas the fourth President of the Republic of Albania from July 24, 2002 to July 24, 2007. He is the son of Albanian Army general Spiro Moisiu....
, former President of AlbaniaAlbaniaAlbania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
; - Göran PerssonGöran PerssonHans Göran Persson was the Prime Minister of Sweden from 1996 to 2006 and the leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Party from 1996 to 2007. Conceding defeat in the September 2006 general election, he announced that he would resign as party leader, and Mona Sahlin was elected to succeed him as...
, former Prime Minister of SwedenSwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
; - Vilma Trajkovska, President of the Boris TrajkovskiBoris TrajkovskiTrajkovski died on 26 February 2004 in a plane crash en route to an economic conference in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The aircraft crashed in thick fog and heavy rain on a mountainside in southeastern Herzegovina, near the villages of Huskovici and Rotimlja some eight miles south-south-east...
International Foundation; - Talât Sait Halman, former Turkish Minister of Culture and Professor of Bilkent UniversityBilkent Universityİhsan Doğramacı Bilkent University, commonly referred to as Bilkent University or Bilkent, is the first private, nonprofit university in Turkey with the fundamental aim of creating a center of excellence in higher education and research...
.
On November 9–16, 2008, the ECTR was among initiators and organisers of a series of events held as part of the European Week of Tolerance on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of die Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht, also referred to as the Night of Broken Glass, and also Reichskristallnacht, Pogromnacht, and Novemberpogrome, was a pogrom or series of attacks against Jews throughout Nazi Germany and parts of Austria on 9–10 November 1938.Jewish homes were ransacked, as were shops, towns and...
and International Day for Tolerance
International Day for Tolerance
The International Day for Tolerance is an annual observance declared by UNESCO in 1995 to generate public awareness of the dangers of intolerance. It is observed on 16 November...
. In the course of official events the ECTR presented a draft European Framework Convention on Promoting Tolerance and Combating Intolerance and the Concept for a White Paper on Tolerance to the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
. Both of these innovative conventions have great significance for promoting tolerance
Toleration
Toleration is "the practice of deliberately allowing or permitting a thing of which one disapproves. One can meaningfully speak of tolerating, ie of allowing or permitting, only if one is in a position to disallow”. It has also been defined as "to bear or endure" or "to nourish, sustain or preserve"...
in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
The European Week of Tolerance was co-organised by the ECTR, the European Jewish Congress
European Jewish Congress
The European Jewish Congress, , was founded in 1986. It is based in Paris, with offices in Brussels, Strasbourg, Berlin and Budapest...
, the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe , which held its first session in Strasbourg on 10 August 1949, can be considered the oldest international parliamentary assembly with a pluralistic composition of democratically elected members of parliament established on the basis of an...
, the Russian Jewish Congress
Russian Jewish Congress
The Russian Jewish Congress is a non-profit charitable fund and the largest secular organisation of Russian Jews. It was established in 1996 by the initiative group of the Jewish businessmen, active workers and religious figures for revival of the Jewish life in Russia...
, the World Holocaust Forum Foundation
World Holocaust Forum
The World Holocaust Forum is a series of high-profile events targeted at preserving memories of Holocaust atrocities and the other tragic events of World War II...
and the Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem is Israel's official memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, established in 1953 through the Yad Vashem Law passed by the Knesset, Israel's parliament....
.
In 2008, the ECTR established a European tolerance prize called the Medal of Tolerance. The purpose of the prize is to honour the extraordinary creative achievements of outstanding activists who promote tolerance and reconciliation in Europe, as well as fighting xenophobia
Xenophobia
Xenophobia is defined as "an unreasonable fear of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange". It comes from the Greek words ξένος , meaning "stranger," "foreigner" and φόβος , meaning "fear."...
and racial and religious discrimination. The Medal of Tolerance may also be awarded to the families of individuals who have lost their lives in the struggle against extremism
Extremism
Extremism is any ideology or political act far outside the perceived political center of a society; or otherwise claimed to violate common moral standards...
and intolerance
Toleration
Toleration is "the practice of deliberately allowing or permitting a thing of which one disapproves. One can meaningfully speak of tolerating, ie of allowing or permitting, only if one is in a position to disallow”. It has also been defined as "to bear or endure" or "to nourish, sustain or preserve"...
.
The First European medal of tolerance was conferred on October 11, 2010 on the King of Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
Juan Carlos I for his lifelong dedication and devotion to the issue of tolerance and political reconciliation.
The ECTR was one of the initiators and organisers of the international conference “Towards Reconciliation
Reconciliation
Reconciliation may variously refer to:* Bank reconciliation* Truth and reconciliation commission-Religion:* Sacrament of Penance , also known as Reconciliation...
. Experiences, Techniques and Opportunities for Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
” held on October 24-25, 2010, in Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik is a Croatian city on the Adriatic Sea coast, positioned at the terminal end of the Isthmus of Dubrovnik. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations on the Adriatic, a seaport and the centre of Dubrovnik-Neretva county. Its total population is 42,641...
, Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
. The gathering brought together current and former heads of European nations to collect European experience in reconciliation
Reconciliation
Reconciliation may variously refer to:* Bank reconciliation* Truth and reconciliation commission-Religion:* Sacrament of Penance , also known as Reconciliation...
, and offer them to the Balkan nations.
The ECTR held a Round Table Meeting in Moscow on October 25, 2011. Russian and international experts discussed issues of paramount importance connected with the current status, aspects and promotion of tolerance
Tolerance
Tolerance or toleration is the practice of permitting a thing of which one disapproves, such as social, ethnic, sexual, or religious practices.Tolerance, tolerant, or toleration may also refer to:...
in Europe and in Russia. The experts also touched on such topics as the boundaries of tolerance
Tolerance
Tolerance or toleration is the practice of permitting a thing of which one disapproves, such as social, ethnic, sexual, or religious practices.Tolerance, tolerant, or toleration may also refer to:...
, nuclear tolerance and secure tolerance in order to prevent a clash of civilisations. The ECTR’s initiative to establish a Centre for Tolerance and Security at a leading European university was also discussed at this meeting.
European Week of Tolerance
- Special memorial service on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of die Kristallnacht (Great Synagogue of Europe, Brussels, November 9, 2008)
- Special event on promoting tolerance throughout the European Continent (European Parliament, Brussels, November 10, 2008)
- Diplomatic dinner and Medal of Tolerance awards ceremony (Brussels, November 10, 2008)
- Conference of European Rabbis convention (Prague, November 11, 2008)
- Memorial event commemorating the 70th anniversary of die Kristallnacht (Kaliningrad, November 16, 2008)