The flame of hate speech is burning in the world, and social media is being used to spread intolerance, warned the Secretary General of the United Nations (UN), Antonio Guterres, stating that incendiary rhetoric is becoming a weapon for political gain.
He said that throughout the world hatred is gaining momentum and that the target of the threatening wave of intolerance and violence are members of different world religions.
As Guterres said, social media is being used to spread intolerance, movements glorifying neo-Nazism and white supremacy are growing, and inflammatory rhetoric is becoming a weapon for political gain.
"Hatred becomes an integral part of both liberal democracies and authoritarian regimes, and its shadow hangs over all of humanity," Guterres said.
In addition to these attacks, he states, religious groups but also minorities, migrants, refugees, women and the so-called "others" are being directed at rhetoric that is becoming more and more terrible.
"In the past few months, we have witnessed the killing of Jews in synagogues and the desecration of their tombstones with swastikas, the killing of Muslims in mosques and the destruction of their holy places, the killing of Christians during prayer and the burning of their churches," Guterres said.
The Secretary General pointed out that, in response to such a situation, he launched two UN initiatives.
"First, I presented the Strategy and Action Plan for Hate Speech in order to coordinate efforts in the entire UN system aimed at solving the root causes and defining our more effective response," Guterres said.
As he explained, the second initiative refers to the development of an Action Plan by which the UN will dedicate itself to efforts aimed at the protection of holy places and the security of religious buildings.
"Hate speech undermines social cohesion, erodes common values and can be a prelude to violence and set back efforts for peace, stability, sustainable development and human dignity," Guterres said.
He referred to hate speech that preceded atrocities and genocides, citing Rwanda, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Cambodia as examples.
"We have to say to those who continuously use fear to divide communities: diversity is an asset, never a threat. A deep and lasting spirit of mutual respect and acceptance of differences can transcend posts and tweets fired in a split second," Guterres said.
He added that resolving the issue of hate speech does not mean restricting or banning freedom of speech, but rather preventing hate speech from developing into something even more dangerous, especially inciting discrimination, hostility and violence, which is prohibited under international law.
"We should treat hate speech like any malicious act by condemning it, refusing to spread it, confronting it with the truth and encouraging the perpetrators to change their behavior," said the UN Secretary General.
He pointed out that now is the moment to intensify the eradication of anti-Semitism, hatred against Muslims, persecution of Christians and all other forms of racism, xenophobia and related intolerance.
According to Guterres, civil society and the media have important roles in this, and political and religious leaders are especially responsible for promoting peaceful coexistence.
"Together we can put out inflamed hate speech and support the values that bind us as one family of people," concluded the UN Secretary General.
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