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Europeiska Rådet för tolerans och försoning (eng. European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliationäven, ECTR) bildades den 7 oktober 2008 i Paris, tolerans i Europa. Ordförande för rådet var den förre presidenten i Polen Aleksander Kwaśniewski (till 2013), och vice ordförande är presidenten för den Europeiska Judiska Kongressen Viatcheslav Moshe Kantor.

Historia och syfte
Som en toleransens väktare, tar ECTR fram praktiska rekommendationer för regeringar och internationella organisationer när det gäller förbättring av relationerna mellan religiösa och etniska grupper på kontinenten. Rådet är en av få internationella organisationer som fokuserar på att bekämpa främlingsfientlighet, antisemitism och rasdiskriminering i den moderna världen.

För ECTR arbetar bland annat den före detta svenska statsministern Göran Persson.

European Week of Tolerance
On November 9–16, 2008, the ECTR was among initiators and organisers of a series of events held as part of the European Week of Tolerance on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of die Kristallnacht and International Day for Tolerance. In the course of official events the ECTR presented a draft European Framework Convention on Promoting Tolerance and Combating Intolerance and the Concept for a White Paper on Tolerance to the European Parliament. Both of these innovative conventions have great significance for promoting tolerance in Europe.

The European Week of Tolerance was co-organised by the ECTR, the European Jewish Congress, the European Parliament, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the Russian Jewish Congress, the World Holocaust Forum Foundation and the Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority Yad Vashem.


 * 1) Special memorial service on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Kristallnacht (Great Synagogue of Europe, Brussels, November 9, 2008)
 * 2) Special event on promoting tolerance throughout the European Continent (European Parliament, Brussels, November 10, 2008)
 * 3) Diplomatic dinner and Medal of Tolerance awards ceremony (Brussels, November 10, 2008)
 * 4) Conference of European Rabbis convention (Prague, November 11, 2008)
 * 5) Memorial event commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Kristallnacht (Kaliningrad, November 16, 2008)

Medal of Tolerance
In 2008, the ECTR established a European tolerance prize called the Medal of Tolerance. The purpose of the prize is to honour the extraordinary creative achievements of outstanding activists who promote tolerance and reconciliation in Europe, as well as fighting xenophobia and racial and religious discrimination. The Medal of Tolerance may also be awarded to the families of individuals who have lost their lives in the struggle against extremism and intolerance.

The First European Medal of Tolerance was conferred on October 11, 2010 on the King of Spain Juan Carlos I for his lifelong dedication and devotion to the issue of tolerance and political reconciliation. The second and the third European Medals of Tolerance have been conferred on President of Croatia Ivo Josipovic and Ex-President of Serbia Boris Tadic in Brussels, in recognition of the Balkan statesmen’s “significant contribution to promoting, seeking, safeguarding or maintaining Tolerance and Reconciliation on the European continent”.

"Towards Reconciliation"
The ECTR was one of the initiators and organisers of the international conference "Towards Reconciliation. Experiences, Techniques and Opportunities for Europe" held on October 24–25, 2010, in Dubrovnik, Croatia. The gathering brought together current and former heads of European nations to collect European experience in reconciliation, and offer them to the Balkan nations.

The ECTR held a Round Table Meeting in Moscow on October 25, 2011. Russian and international experts discussed issues of paramount importance connected with the current status, aspects and promotion of tolerance in Europe and in Russia. The experts also touched on such topics as the boundaries of tolerance, nuclear tolerance and secure tolerance in order to prevent a clash of civilisations. The ECTR’s initiative to establish a Centre for Tolerance and Security at a leading European university was also discussed at this meeting.

Efforts to pass Statute of Tolerance
In October 2012 Viatcheslav Moshe Kantor introduced ECTR’s proposals for a general law of tolerance, which was presented at an official ceremony in the presence of European Parliament President Martin Schulz, as well as the two recipients of the European Medal of Tolerance. Expanding on the Model Law for Promotion of Tolerance, a version of which it seeks to make mandatory across all 27 member states, Chair of the Task Force in charge of its inception Yoram Dinstein said that “tolerance is the glue that cements together the bond between distinct groups in a single society”.

On 17 September 2013, a subcommittee of the ECTR, composed of Yoram Dinstein, Ugo Genesio, Rein Mȕllerson, Daniel Thȕrer and Rȕdiger Wolfrum presented "A EUROPEAN FRAMEWORK NATIONAL STATUTE FOR THE PROMOTION OF TOLERANCE SUBMITTED WITH A VIEW TO BEING ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURES OF EUROPEAN STATES" to the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs of the European Parliament. Section 7 seeks to criminalise hate crimes, incitement to violence, group libel and overt approval of a totalitarian ideology, xenophobia or anti-Semitism, amongst other offences, and details that "juveniles convicted of committing crimes listed" above "will be required to undergo a rehabilitation programme designed to instill in them a culture of tolerance." Section 8 states that “the government shall ensure that (a) Schools, from the primary level upwards, will introduce courses encouraging students to accept diversity and promoting a climate of tolerance as regards the qualities and cultures of others.” While Section 9 (a) states: “The government shall ensure that public broadcasting (television and radio) stations will devote a prescribed percentage of their program to promoting a climate of tolerance.”