OSCE/ODIHR Releases new Guide on Anti-Christian hate crimes
Posted on: July 28, 2025
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The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) has published a Guide on anti-Christian hate crimes, which highlights security needs of Christians in the OSCE region. The guideline complements existing OSCE guides on anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim hate crime prevention and issues a strong call for government action.
The 125-page document, entitled Understanding Anti-Christian Hate Crimes and Addressing the Security Needs of Christian Communities — A Practical Guide covers a broad area of challenges faced by Christians in the OSCE region.
According to the OSCE Guide, anti-Christian hate incidents—ranging “from graffiti and vandalism to harassment, threats, physical assaults and murder”—constitute a security concern in the region. It highlights that many Christian communities had to introduce additional security measures, in response to recent attacks on Christian places of worship and events. “However, across the OSCE region, these communities often face challenges due to limited expertise, funding and personnel, partly because they have historically faced fewer threats compared to some other religious or belief communities”, the document emphasises.
“What makes this issue particularly urgent is how often religion-based hate crimes are downplayed, under-reported or politically overlooked,” the Guide notes, emphasizing that “anti-Christian hate crimes do not take place in a vacuum.” It further states that “political discourse and narratives have helped to perpetuate anti-Christian bias and stereotypes.”
The Guide also underscores the heightened vulnerability of certain groups, including women converts from Muslim backgrounds who are “especially at risk of being punished by their families once their new faith is discovered, including through physical violence and threats.” Their stories are highlighted in various exampes included in the document.
The final section of the Guide outlines a series of concrete recommendations and steps for preventing and responding to anti-Christian hate crimes. Governments are urged to unequivocally condemn such acts and to promote “a clear and accurate understanding of the specific characteristics of contemporary anti-Christian bias, as well as of common discriminatory narratives that drive intolerance against Christians.”
Additional recommendations include strengthening data collection and reporting mechanisms, commissioning independent studies, disseminating civil society reports, establishing interagency working groups, and addressing the root causes of anti-Christian intolerance.
To address the security needs of Christian communities, the Guide further recommends that additional protection and safety measures “should be implemented during key times, such as major Christian holidays and festivals.”
The Guide also highlights the role of the media, calling on journalists to “convey unbiased and accurate information” and to ensure that reporting does not “perpetuate or reinforce anti-Christian bias.”