“We call on Russia to stop the destruction of religious sites and places of worship, which, together with the indiscriminate killing of tens of thousands of civilians, constitute crimes against humanity”, said the Special Representatives of the OSCE Chairmanship-in-Office and Daniel Höltgen, the Council of Europe Special Representative on Antisemitic, anti-Muslim and other forms of religious intolerance and hate crimes, in a joint statement issued on Thursday 14 April.
“We are appalled at the destruction of religious sites and places of worship: churches, synagogues and mosques. They are vital to the country’s diverse religious communities, more than ever in times of crisis”, the four signatories write, before highlighting that “the Council of Europe was established in the aftermath of the Holocaust and World War II and the OSCE was created at the height of the Cold War, with the promise of maintaining peace and security for the European continent”.
They also recalled the vulnerability of the elderly and the “profound psychological trauma” suffered by the victims of war. (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)