official visits to germany
OSCE Conference on Anti-Semitism, Berlin
Photo Gallery OSCE Conference
April 28 - 29, 2004. With the Berlin Conference on Anti-Semitism in the Conference Centre of the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin, the OSCE signals that it takes seriously the problem of anti-Semitism and the concerns of the Jewish community in the OSCE area. The Conference is to agree upon concrete joint steps to combat all forms of anti-Semitism including the systematic registration of anti-Semitic attacks in the OSCE area and the identification of best practices in dealing with anti-Semitism, for instance in legislation and education. (more)
OSCE Vows to Combat Anti-Semitism, Other Hate Crimes
April 29, 2004. The second OSCE Conference on anti-Semitism concluded in Berlin with delegates issuing a declaration condemning all acts motivated by anti-Semitism or other forms of religious or racial hatred. A number of prominent current and former U.S. officials participated in the conference, including Secretary of State Colin Powell, congressmen Christopher Smith and Ben Cardin, and former New York Mayor Ed Koch. The declaration contains specific measures for combating such hate crimes. These include a review of member states' legal systems to ensure that they foster "a safe environment free of anti-Semitic harassment, violence or discrimination," and a call for educational programs to combat anti-Semitism and promote remembrance of the Holocaust. In addition, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) will maintain data on hate crimes and how to prevent them. (more)
Secretary of State Colin L. Powell Roundtable with European Editors
April 29, 2004.SECRETARY POWELL: (...) Let me just say thank you for joining me this morning and I appreciate it and I am very pleased to be back in Berlin, and on this particular occasion to be attending this important conference on anti-Semitism. It is unfortunate we have to have a conference on anti-Semitism, but it turns out to be a necessity. It’s the second conference in a row that we’ve had on this subject. So many decades after the end of the Third Reich anti-Semitism is still alive in the world and I want to thank the German government for hosting this conference and my colleague, Joschka Fischer for serving as the principal host and also the OSCE under the chairmanship of Solomon Passy, the Foreign Minister of Bulgaria for pulling them altogether. I think it has been a successful conference, ending up in a declaration that is not only hortatory but lays out some action to be taken by the OSCE to follow up. So I am pleased to have been here to represent the United States and President Bush. (more)
Remarks by Secretary of State Colin L. Powell
April 28, 2004. SECRETARY POWELL: Thank you very much, Mr. Moderator, Chairman Passy, Minister Fischer, Fellow Ministers and Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen. It is a great pleasure for me to be here representing President Bush and the people of the United States. Chairman Passy, let me thank you for your leadership in planning and organizing this important conference on anti-Semitism. I also wish to extend my sincere appreciation to the German Government and to my good friend Joschka Fischer for hosting our gathering and for taking a strong stand against this age-old yet active and evolving form of intolerance. And let me take this occasion to honor President Rau, not just for opening the conference, but also for his leadership against anti-Semitism and on so many other compelling moral issues during his 52 years of distinguished public service to Germany and to the world. (more)
Remarks to the Press by Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and U.S. Delegation Head Edward Koch
April 28, 2004. SECRETARY POWELL: Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. I am very pleased to be here in Berlin at this very important conference, and especially to be sharing the lectern this afternoon with the head of our delegation, former mayor Ed Koch of New York, and other distinguished members of Congress and other members of the delegation who are here present, as well as our Ambassador Steve Minikes, who has done such a great job in representing the United States at OSCE. I’d like to express my thanks to Chairman in Office Passy, and to German Foreign Minister Fischer, for all their hard work. This is a very important conference, I think, as evidenced by: one—the seriousness of the issue of anti-Semitism, but we have responded in kind by the seriousness of the presentations that we heard so far today and by the importance of the delegations that all of the nations have sent to this conference. The conference will end with a strong statement, but not just a strong statement, an action plan of things we have to do to follow up and you will be hearing from the Chairman in Office about that later. It’s a great pleasure for me to have the opportunity to represent President Bush and the American people here and I would invite Mayor Koch to say a word. (more)
Remarks to the Press by Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and German Foreign Minister Jaschka Fischer
April 28, 2004. MINISTER FISCHER: (In German) Ladies and Gentlemen, it gives me great pleasure to be able to welcome here today my friend Colin Powell, the Secretary of State of the United States of America, and the members of his delegation. I would like to thank him in particular for his participation in the conference on anti-Semitism, the OSCE conference on anti-Semitism. And I must say that I was greatly impressed by his remarks during that conference. We just had a meeting here, a bilateral meeting, where we talked at length about issues that are of mutual interest, among them: Afghanistan; the situation in the Middle East; and, the situation in Iraq. We were debating issues related to combating terrorism. We were talking about the situation [in] the Balkans, Kosovo, G-8 issues that are related to the overall G-8 and Cyprus. (more)
Remarks by the Secretary of State Colin L. Powell Meeting with Religious Leaders
April 28, 2004. AMBASSADOR COATS: Let me introduce to you Secretary Powell. (Inaudible). Mr. Secretary, we selected these people at your request because they are leaders in promoting religious tolerance and understanding among different ethnic groups. They have taken -- they have been outspoken in that regard. They represent different faiths. You’d wanted to discuss this issue with them. I told them that you would probably make a very short statement and open it up for their comments and the questions and discussions. This is the Secretary’s second visit to Berlin in three weeks—it shows you the importance he places on this kind of thing and it is very appropriate. Thank you, Mr. Secretary. (more)
Fighting Anti-Semitism a Top U.S. Priority, Jones Says
April 8, 2004. "Anti-Semitism again has emerged as a serious problem in Europe and elsewhere in the world, including here in the United States," and fighting it is "one of our highest priorities," the State Department's Beth Jones told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's Subcommittee on Europe April 8. Jones, the assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, explained in her prepared testimony the three "tracks" on which the U.S. Department of State works to combat anti-Semitism:
-- with European allies, particularly within the context of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE);
-- through the Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research; and
-- by means of bilateral action led by Ambassadors and Embassy staffs. (more)
