Written question asked by Linda Perham (Labour) on Wednesday, 23 March 2005, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 5 April 2005. It was answered by Bill Rammell (Labour) on Tuesday, 5 April 2005 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make a statement on Government-funded monitoring of anti-Semitic incitement in (a) the Middle East and (b) Eastern Europe.

Answer: Linda Perham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on Government-funded monitoring of anti- Semitic incitement in (a) the Middle East and (b) Eastern Europe. [224122] Mr. Rammell: The UK is committed to tackling discrimination and intolerance, including anti- Semitism. Incitement against any community may result in an increase in racial, religious or national tension. As part of its efforts to combat incitement, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is funding a project with the NGO index on censorship and BBC monitoring, to monitor incidents where the media has been either inciting conflict or raising tension, including on anti-Semitic grounds. The project, which began in 2004 and is expected to run for four years, focuses on four regions, including Eastern Europe and the Middle East. The outputs of the monitoring can serve as early warning of increasing tensions in a given region; and to highlight areas where action is needed by Governments or civil society to tackle hate speech and incitement.

Secondary information