The general director of the Fundación for Islamic Culture and Religious Tolerance in Spain (FICRT), Dr. Musabeh Saeed Alketbi, and the secretary of the Board of Trustees of the Foundation, Rashed AlKhateri, participated in the conference entitled “Diversity and democratic coexistence: Towards a new paradigm against hateful and intolerant behavior”, held on May 17, 2023, in the Conference Room of the García Lorca Theater in Getafe (Madrid), at the invitation of the Getafe City Council, the National Police Force, the Federation of Associations and Clubs for UNESCO (FECU) and the Movement against Intolerance.
At the beginning of the event, the president of the UNESCO Getafe-Madrid Center welcomed the attendees, conveying a special greeting to the director general of the IFRC, Musabeh Alketbi, and applauding the key role of this institution in forming partnerships and constructive and positive relations with the various state institutions in Spain, aimed at promoting the values and culture of coexistence, peace and tolerance; to strengthen interreligious and intercultural dialogue and to fight against hate speech and racism and extremist ideologies.
During his speech, the president of the Movement Against Intolerance, Esteban Ibarra, pointed out that although hate crimes are ancient, the definition of this phenomenon only came to light in 2003. Ibarra stressed the importance of guaranteeing international protection for the victims of hate crimes, stating that human dignity in plural societies must be the basis on which legislation and laws aimed at combating intolerance and hatred and promoting respect, harmony and understanding are drawn up.
For her part, the Regional Coordinator at Fundación Adecco, Isabel Pertusa – a foundation established in 1999 and dedicated to the training of human resources; the social inclusion of the elderly, women, immigrants and people with disabilities – stressed the importance of guaranteeing the protection of the human dignity of the vulnerable in the face of discriminatory practices and exclusion, which endanger social peace and undermine coexistence and tolerance within social society.
In this regard, the Honorary Commissioner of the National Police, José Ramón Murillo Gómez, stressed that the religious and cultural diversity of Spanish society requires regulations that guarantee social cohesion, coexistence, security and social peace. He stressed that Spain prioritizes, through the Law on Citizen Security, the training of the State Security Forces to enable them to act professionally in the face of hate crimes; to respect human dignity at all times and to assume the plurality of Spanish society and use it as a main factor in the fight against discrimination and to promote dialogue and tolerance.
