World Marks 1st Int'nal Day for Countering Hate Speech

The world observed the first International Day for Countering Hate Speech on 18 June.

The day aims to highlight the need for combating hate speech and promoting tolerance and dialogue between different people and groups.

The theme this year is “Role of education to address the root causes of hate speech and advance inclusion, non-discrimination, and peace.”

Despite the fact that the concept of hate speech is not defined in international law, many countries around the world like Morocco and the United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention organized a high-level event that aims to reduce the devastating impact of hate speech, which can lead to wide scale human rights violations, increase conflicts and upend peace and development measures also.

In his message on the International Day for Countering Hate Speech, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said, "Hate speech incites violence, undermines persity and social cohesion, and threatens the common values, SDGs, and principles that bind us together. It promotes racism, xenophobia, and misogyny; it dehumanizes inpiduals and communities; and it has a serious impact on our efforts to promote peace and security, human rights, and sustainable development."

He also indicated that "Words" can be weaponized and cause physical harm, noting that the escalation from hate speech to violence has played a significant role in the most horrific and tragic crimes of the modern age, from the antisemitism driving the Holocaust, to the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.

"The internet and social media have turbocharged hate speech, enabling it to spread like wildfire across borders. The spread of hate speech against minorities during the COVID-19 pandemic provides further evidence that many societies are highly vulnerable to the stigma, discrimination, and conspiracies it promotes," the message read.

In response to this growing threat, three years ago, I launched the United Nations Strategy and Plan of Action on Hate Speech. This provides a framework for our support to the Member States to counter this scourge while respecting freedom of expression and opinion, in collaboration with civil society, the media, technology companies, and social media platforms.

"The General Assembly came together to pass a resolution calling for inter-cultural and inter-religious dialogue to counter hate speech – and proclaimed the International Day we mark this day for the first time," he noted.

According to the UN, the internet and social media platforms have turbocharged hate speech, enabling it to spread like wildfire across borders. The spread of hate speech against minorities during the COVID-19 pandemic provides further evidence that many societies are highly vulnerable to the stigma, discrimination and conspiracies it promotes.

In 2021, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution “promoting inter-religious and intercultural dialogue and tolerance in countering hate speech”. The global institution expressed its concerns over the proliferation of hate speech all around the globe.

The resolution passed by the UN affirmed the need to counter xenophobia, hate speech, and discrimination. It called on all relevant actors, including member states, to speed up their efforts to address these issues, in line with international human rights law. The resolution also declared that 18 June would be marked as the International Day for Countering Hate Speech.

The initiative builds upon the UN Strategy and Plan of Action on Hate Speech that was started in 2019. The strategy affirmed the “need to counter hate holistically and with full respect for freedom of opinion and expression”. It also provides a framework on how the global body can complement states in tackling the issue.

It's worth mentioning that the negative impact of the phenomenon has been further amplified by social media and other means of communication. If left unchecked, hate speech can lead to wide-scale human rights violations, increase conflicts and upend peace and development measures. The escalation from hate speech to violence has had a major role in the most horrific crimes of the modern world, from the antisemitism driving the Holocaust, to the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.