UUI, Alm.del - 2013-14 - Bilag 6: Invitation til Fundamental Rights Conference 2013: Combating hate crime in the EU den 12.-13. november 2013 i Vilnius

Dear Madam/Sir,It is with great pleasure that we invite you to take part in the 2013 Fundamental Rights Conference entitled‘Combating hate crime in the EU’on 12-13 November in Vilnius.Europe’s socio-economic crisis has proved fertile ground for prejudice and, in some cases, violence against themost vulnerable groups of our society, such as Roma, migrants, and ethnic and religious minorities. Evidencecollected by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) and other organisations shows that hatecrime is a daily reality throughout the EU. Motivated by racism, xenophobia, religious intolerance or by biasagainst a person’s disability, sexual orientation or gender identity, such crimes harm not only those targeted butentire communities. They thus strike at the heart of EU’s commitments to democracy and the fundamental rightsof equality and non-discrimination.The Fundamental Rights Conference will invite decision makers and practitioners to explore effective strategies tocombat hate crime through legal and policy measures at the national as well as EU level. Discussions will focuson monitoring and recording hate crime, victim support services, ensuring effective investigation and prosecution,the discriminatory aspects of hate crime, human rights education and remembrance, capacity building for lawenforcement and criminal justice systems, the challenges presented by the relatively recent phenomenon ofcyberhate, and many other issues.The conference is FRA’s key annual event, and will be hosted this year in cooperation with the LithuanianPresidency of the Council of the EU. About 300 representatives from EU institutions and bodies, internationalorganisations, national governments and parliaments, law enforcement authorities, criminal justice systems,national human rights bodies and civil society are expected to attend. Further information is enclosed in the draftprogramme.We hope that you will be available to participate in this important event and look forward to seeing you in Vilnius.