Talking earlier than a panel of consultants on the fifty fifth session of the Human Rights Council, Volker Türk underscored the significance of strengthening social cohesion and rising respect, with a specific concentrate on the position of social media.
“Social media platforms have a transparent duty to fight on-line hate speech that will result in real-world discrimination and violence,” he stated.
He famous that his workplace, OHCHR, is collaborating with a number of corporations to accentuate efforts in assembly their human rights duties below the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
“It’s vital to uphold individuals’s elementary rights to dwell free from all types of discrimination, and from focused assaults that incite hostility and violence towards them,” he added.
The Human Rights Council, the UN’s highest rights physique, had convened the panel to delve into the drivers, root causes, and human rights impacts of the desecration of sacred books, locations of worship, and spiritual symbols.
Authorized and judicial protections
Along with selling social cohesion, Mr. Türk urged nations to undertake complete anti-discrimination laws, offering authorized instruments to ship justice and empower minority communities for fuller participation in society.
He additionally referred to as on justice methods to systematically deal with circumstances of spiritual hatred, together with situations of desecration of sacred books and symbols.
“States even have an obligation to fight discrimination – together with on non secular grounds – and I additionally urge such circumstances to be introduced earlier than courts,” he emphasised, stating the necessity for correct coaching of police forces to report and act on incidents of incitement to discrimination, hostility, and violence, significantly these primarily based on non secular intolerance.
Vested political pursuits
Throughout his speech, the Excessive Commissioner drew consideration to the disturbing pattern of hate-driven assaults throughout completely different areas, starting from hateful speech to symbolic acts and bodily violence.
Politicians have been recognized as actively selling such hatred, usually scapegoating minority teams throughout electoral intervals.
“That is acutely related in 2024, which can see extra elections happen than some other 12 months in historical past, and with conflicts rising, significantly within the Center East,” he stated.
Rise in xenophobia
Mr. Türk additionally voiced deep concern over the alarming improve in xenophobia and discrimination primarily based on faith, gender, ethnicity, and migrant standing, in addition to non secular hatred concentrating on girls and ladies.
“I need to stress my disgust for such expressions of scorn and hate,” he stated, emphasizing the denial of a elementary premise of the UN Charter – “to follow tolerance and dwell collectively in peace with each other pretty much as good neighbours” – in situations the place people or teams face humiliation and discrimination.
