Baku, June 18, AZERTAC
June 18 marks International Day for Countering Hate Speech. Addressing hate speech remains a key priority within the United Nations system, through the implementation of the UN Strategy and Plan of Action on Hate Speech. Subsequently, General Assembly resolution A/RES/79/316 adopted “encourages Member States to consider initiatives that identify areas for practical action in all sectors and levels of society for the promotion of interreligious and intercultural dialogue, tolerance, understanding and cooperation” as a tool to counter hate speech, according to UN.
The UN Strategy and Plan of Action on Hate Speech underscores the importance of partnerships in the fight against hate speech. Indeed, as hate speech affects the whole society, a whole-of-society approach is necessary to address this phenomenon. Relatedly, the UN Strategy stresses the need to raise awareness about respect for human rights, non-discrimination, coexistence, acceptance and respect for diversity and understanding of other cultures and religions, as well as the promotion of intercultural, interfaith and interreligious dialogue. It urges for the use of advocacy to highlight hate speech trends of concern as well as to express sympathy and support to targeted individuals or groups. This is most resonant in the current context of rising conflicts globally, both in their frequency and intensity as well as in the ways in which hate speech is used to fuel them.
To protect all those at risk of hate speech, which can lead to incitement to violence, there is an urgent need to further strengthen practical approaches and tools, and scalable strategies to break the cycles of hate, elevate empathy, and acceptance, and respect for diversity as critical pillars in any society and reinforce the foundations of dialogue and understanding as instrumental to building peaceful and just societies. These practical approaches entail policies, new technologies and innovative partnerships to advance and sustain efforts to not only address the root causes of hate speech but also mitigate its impact on societies and communities and to counter it. They consider the intersection of education, media, digital literacy, monitoring, data collection and identification of access points for interventions. In the current international landscape, partnerships also remain essential in designing and implementing these practical tools and approaches for countering hate speech and other noxious narratives and contribute to a healthy information ecosystem.
In July 2021, the UN General Assembly highlighted global concerns over “the exponential spread and proliferation of hate speech” around the world and adopted a resolution on “promoting inter-religious and intercultural dialogue and tolerance in countering hate speech”.
The resolution recognizes the need to counter discrimination, xenophobia and hate speech and calls on all relevant actors, including States, to increase their efforts to address this phenomenon, in line with international human rights law.
The resolution proclaimed 18 June as the International Day for Countering Hate Speech, building on the UN Strategy and Plan of Action on Hate Speech launched on 18 June 2019.