High Level Event Commemorating the first International Day on Countering Hate Speech
‘‘Role of education to address the root causes of hate speech and advance inclusion, non-discrimination, and peace’’
(17 June 2022)
DELIEVERED BY AMBASSADOR AAMIR KHAN
DEPUTY PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE
Excellencies,
Pakistan joins the international community in commemorating the first-ever international day for countering hate speech.
I would like to thank the delegation of Morocco for taking this initiative which marks an important milestone in advancing global efforts to address and counter this scourge.
Hate speech is on the rise worldwide, with the potential to incite violence, undermine social cohesion and tolerance based on xenophobia, racism, Islamophobia, hatred and other forms of intolerance and discrimination.
History has shown us that genocide and other atrocity crimes begin with words – there is a collective responsibility to address hate speech in the present day to prevent further violence in the future.
We hope that, under the umbrella of the United Nations Strategy and Plan of Action on Hate Speech, Member States and societies will be able to take bold actions to respond to intolerant, inflammatory and prejudiced narratives that are stoking and intensify racial and religious fears, hostility and hatred.
I believe three specific actions should be accorded priority:
- One, as recognized by the UN Strategy, education is a powerful tool to address and counter hate speech. There is need to build consensus on the imperative to strengthen education responses to hate speech and set out concrete recommendations to counter it.
- Two, Government interventions would be needed to domestically criminalize certain manifestations of hate speech, such as racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia and incitement to violence.
- Three, social media companies should urgently review their policies, or adopt new ones, in an open, inclusive and transparent manner with a view to effectively regulating hate speech and disinformation online. This would require governments and relevant technological companies to work together to discuss and formulate regulatory frameworks.
In conclusion, hate is a threat to everyone. Combating it must be a collective effort.
I thank you.
