HRC: Morocco Calls for Stronger Collective Action Against Hate Speech

Opening a side event organized by Morocco on the sidelines of the 61st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva, he said that “collective action is possible” to overcome some of the divisions that have emerged in recent years in the quest for consensus on how to promote human rights while combating hate speech.

The diplomat advocated raising the visibility of this issue through an initiative at the Human Rights Council encouraging voluntary measures such as promoting interfaith dialogue through partnerships among states, civil society organizations, and faith-based organizations, collecting data to identify and monitor the various manifestations of the phenomenon, and observing June 18 as the International Day for Countering Hate Speech.

According to him, incitement to racial and religious hatred, negative stereotyping and stigmatization, and violence fueled by hate speech, disinformation, and misinformation “are spreading like a wildfire, driving conflict, discrimination, and egregious human rights violations.”

The diplomat also stressed that the nature of the challenge has profoundly evolved in the digital era. “Social media’s algorithms are facilitating dissemination of the most hateful content at an unprecedented speed and scale,” thus allowing the digital space to be “hijacked by extremists and advocates of racial and religious hatred and discrimination.”

He also warned about the growing exposure of young people to such content, noting that due to the misuse of information technology, “children and youth are not only exposed to hate speech, but also actively engaging with it, with dire consequences for the future.”

“We run the risk of hate-filled public debate becoming our new normal,” Zniber cautioned, explaining that the event organized by Morocco’s Permanent Mission in Geneva aims precisely to “catalyze collective action” to address these challenges.

Emphasizing that states have long recognized hate speech as a human rights issue, he recalled that the right to free speech is protected under international law, but speech that constitutes incitement to violence is prohibited under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Morocco, he said, “has spared no effort” in advocating for the agenda of countering hate speech and promoting interreligious and intercultural dialogue, be it at the HRC in Geneva or at the UN General Assembly in New York.

In this regard, the Kingdom has supported the adoption of the Rabat Plan of Action, which identifies areas for action to properly balance between freedom of expression and prohibition of incitement, and of the Fez Action Plan for Religious Leaders to prevent incitement to violence that could lead to atrocity crimes.

Zniber also recalled Morocco’s initiatives at the UN to promote interfaith dialogue and tolerance in the face of hate speech, including the resolutions adopted in 2019 and 2021 proclaiming June 18 as the International Day for Countering Hate Speech, as well as the organization in 2023, under the High Patronage of HM King Mohammed VI, of a parliamentary conference on interfaith dialogue.

Held under the theme “Protecting Human Rights through Combating Hate Speech and Promoting Interfaith Dialogue,” the meeting brought together a broad audience and was marked by the quality and diversity of speakers, including Morocco’s ambassador to the Holy See, as well as representatives from the Vatican, the World Jewish Congress, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the World Council of Churches, who highlighted the importance of broad and inclusive mobilization to promote interfaith dialogue and combat hate speech and discrimination.

Editorial team/le7tv