The United Nations Strategy defines hate speech as:
“any kind of communication in speech, writing or behaviour, that attacks or uses pejorative or discriminatory language with reference to a person or a group on the basis of who they are, in other words, based on their religion, ethnicity, nationality, race, colour, descent, gender or other identity factor”
Defining hate speech might seem an easy thing to do, but unfortunately in many cases the line between reporting and removing unlawful online hate speech and censorship is blurred.
Thanks to this insightful and practical document, Member States would be able to adopt common strategies in tackling the matter.
The strategy also provides an evaluation technique to use when deciding to take concrete actions towards punishing the act.
That is why the main objectives of the Strategy and Plan of Action are:
- Enhance UN efforts to address the root causes and drivers of hate speech in a coordinated way, with a focus on education as a preventive tool to raise awareness and build unity.
- Focus on the United Nations response to the impact of hate speech on societies, with an emphasis on engaging with relevant actors, strengthening advocacy, and developing guidance for counter-narratives.
Besides setting those two objectives, there is also a section called: “Implementation of the Strategy’s thirteen Commitments” where all the listed commitments each state should adopt to make an actual change in their society are better explained.
Read more about the UN Strategy here.
Source: https://www.un.org/en/hate-speech/un-strategy-and-plan-of-action-on-hate-speech
