"The Organization of a Public Campaign to Combat Racism, Xenophobia, Anti-Semitism, and Ethnic Discrimination in the Multinational Russian Federation"

The Moscow Bureau on Human Rights presents a three-year project "The Organization of a Public Campaign to Combat Racism, Xenophobia, Anti-Semitism, and Ethnic Discrimination in the Multinational Russian Federation". The main sponsor of the project is the European Commission of the European Union.

The most important task today is not to allow the igniting of inter-religious and inter-ethnic hostility, neither by any state organ in Russia nor by radical, extremist and neo-fascist factions and movements. Inter-religious and inter-ethnic hatred and conflict generated in this way could undermine democratic development and socio-economic changes in Russia and also the creation of true civil society, able to defend human rights effectively. Today the level of inter-ethnic peace and inter-religious concord is an indicator of the degree of maturity in all the component parts of Russian state and society, as well as of the sovereignty of law and the condition of human rights. Chauvinism, ultra-nationalism and political extremism form the breeding ground of the inter-religious and inter-ethnic hostility. There is a great danger in exploitation of xenophobia in electoral campaigns at every level, and also in a justification for local policies regarding migration. Xenophobia, as well as the human rights violation, creates an unfavourable climate for investment, hamper economic and social progress both in the country as a whole and in particular regions. Special concern arises from the absence of the appropriate reaction to xenophobia on the part of the courts and other agencies of law-enforcement.