Utoya – Our Shared Responsibility for Human Rights, Interculturality and Democracy

The attacks were motivated by extreme right ideology and racist hatred. 22 July affects us all, as it shows the dimensions hate crime can take. 22 July reminds us of the vulnerability of our societies and obliges us to look with careful attention at our policies, our education systems, our measures to prevent such events from happening. It reminds us of those who suffer on a daily basis from discrimination and racism, those who are on a daily basis exposed, attacked, harassed and murdered for nothing else than who they are. It reminds us all that we need to take a stand for human rights, interculturality, democracy and the rule of law, and that this is a shared responsibility. As Norway Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg stated: “Our answer is more democracy, more openness to show that we will not be stopped by this kind of violence.”