A/HRC/43/48/Add.2 C. Hate speech or campaigns and the application of the existing legal framework 67. There is a general perception by the victims that perpetrators of hate speech are free to continue their campaigns and cause harm without any legal repercussions. Minority communities are feeling extremely vulnerable with the constant threat of hate speech and hate crimes while they have no recourse for justice. Most of them have lost their faith in the State and law enforcement agencies since the multiple traumas from the violence in Aluthgama in 2014, in Gintota in 2017, and in Ampara and Digana in 2018. In the cases of Aluthgama and Digana, these instances of violence include property damage, grievous injury and death.48 These are clear contemporary examples of hate speech and hate violence, the politicization of ethnic and religious identities and the targeting of minority communities, in particular the Muslim community. Despite sufficient evidence available at each incident, even years after the fact, not one perpetrator has been held accountable, even though the Government made a few arrests and some victims have been compensated. It is also worth noting that such violence did not exclusively target Muslims; similar violence has been committed against Tamils and Christians at various points in time. 68. Most interlocutors who spoke with the Special Rapporteur pointed out that perpetrators of hate speech were not prosecuted not because of the inadequacy of the existing legal framework on hate speech, but because the implementation of that legislation was rather poor. The lack of accountability in these incidents illustrates an absence of political will, the weak implementation of the rule of law, the low awareness of the legal provisions available and possibly fears of public backlash. 69. Many also complained about the role of the media in promoting hateful narratives towards Muslims and inciting hostility and discrimination against them. While some blamed journalistic sensationalism, others noted that the privatized and politicized electronic media played a large role in demonizing individuals and groups. Some highlighted the negative role of the media in, for example, perpetuating the narrative that Muslim medical professionals had been secretly carrying out large-scale sterilization of Buddhist women. The role of social media in generating fear through fake news and incitement to violence was noted with serious concern by many interlocutors. Christians have been the target of fake news and online hate speech as well. For instance, in its incident report for 2019, the National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka referred to false rumours and violence in January 2019 against a Christian community in Batticaloa, which had been called for through Facebook. 70. According to information presented to the Special Rapporteur, in many instances of hate speech, the authorities appear not to have taken appropriate action. The Government temporarily shut down some social media platforms during the riots in March 2018 and following the Easter bombings, a measure whose effectiveness, however, is not self-evident and which invariably fails to meet the standard of necessity under international law (A/HRC/35/22, para. 14). 71. In Sri Lanka, the legal framework to address hate speech constitutes the following: (a) Section 3 (1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Act provides that “no person shall propagate war or advocate national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence”; (b) Section 120 of the Penal Code refers to “whoever by words … or by signs or by visible representations … attempts to raise discontent or disaffection amongst the People of Sri Lanka, or to promote feelings of ill-will and hostility between different classes of such People, shall be punished”; (c) Section 2 (1) (h) of the Prevention of Terrorism Act provides that any person, by words either spoken or intended to be read, or by signs or by visible representations or otherwise causes or intends to cause the commission of acts of violence or religious, racial 48 14 Extremists and Muslim Minorities: Religious Conflict in Contemporary Sri Lanka (New York City, Oxford University Press, 2016). See www.cpalanka.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Confronting-Accountability-for-Hate-Speech-inSri-Lanka-2018.pdf.