UN initiative urges media, governments to fight hate speech

Sharjah - She was speaking during a workshop held by UNAOC on the second day of the fifth International Government Communication Forum (IGCF 2016), which concluded on Sunday at expo.

 “Hate speech is not only found in traditional and unconventional media, but can be found in public spaces as well,” said Nihal Saad, Chief of Cabinet and Spokesperson for the High Representative of the United Nations Alliance of Civilisations (UNAOC).
She added that the world is facing the same cultural divide that was experienced following the events of 9/11, but this divide is exacerbated by the prevalence of unconventional media channels that aid the dissemination of wrong information and a rhetoric of hatred.
She was speaking at a workshop held by UNAOC on the second day of the fifth International Government Communication Forum (IGCF 2016), which concluded on Monday at the Expo Centre, Sharjah.
Focused on preventing and countering the agenda of intolerance and hatred, the workshop outlined the UNAOC’s initiative that looks to tackle xenophobia, stigmatisation, polarisation and discrimination, which occur as a result of hate speech. The UNAOC Hate Speech initiative was launched in 2015 to act as a platform for governments, media professionals and civil society groups to share best practices. The initiative has put a specific focus on engaging the global media space, international journalists and those who are well-positioned to report on hate speech, violence and prejudice.
UNAOC Media and Migration Project Specialist Thibault Chareton explained that the initiative has been built around three main pillars: global symposia, a strategic media campaign to disseminate and share key media messages and the drafting and publishing of a complete report on how to counter hate speech, which is to be launched at the end of 2016 or in early 2017.
Chareton added that the initiative’s hashtag #SpreadNoHate has reached millions around the world and was able to reach over seven million people just at the UNAOC symposium held in New York in 2015.
However, Chareton pointed to the challenges of tackling hate speech, saying: “Hate speech is one of the most complex areas of freedom of expression. The lack of a systematic approach to tackling hate speech in the international community has created quite a lot of confusion and has not given society and governments the necessary frameworks for handling hate speech properly.”
He added: “There is no legal framework under international human rights law that properly captures hate speech. Content that is considered acceptable in one country is considered illegal in others. An individual country’s approach to hate speech is informed by its history, culture and religion, among other things.”
The UNAOC initiative provides recommendations to media, governments and society on how to tackle hate speech appropriately. The initiative urges media outlets to recognise that they have a responsibility to promote equality and non-discrimination and to take steps to ensure their workforce is diverse and representative of an inclusive society. According to the UNAOC, media outlets must also report on all groups and communities and give members of diverse communities the opportunity to speak and be heard. In turn, the initiative urges governments to protect individuals’ right to equality and non-discrimination because doing so is crucial to ensuring that hate speech is not perpetuated.
Concluding the session, Nihal Saad said: “The digital revolution has taken our world by storm and has transformed the way we transmit and receive information. Following that trend, there has been a sharp rise globally in incidents of individuals and groups using hate speech against certain communities. The United Nations Alliance of Civilisations is looking forward to sharing its findings and recommendations on how to counter and prevent hate speech in the media, and to engaging the UAE in this timely and important discussion.”
afkarali@khaleejtimes.com

• Sharjah