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Creation of a grievance service to accompany people who face or endure discrimination,
giving them administrative and legal assistance.
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National human rights institutions and civil society should be legally and financially
supported to effectively counter the spread of hate speech online.
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The active involvement of NHRIs, NGOs, civil societies and other stakeholders including
the representatives of minority groups is crucial in implementing initiatives to address
hate speech. It was also noted that the empowerment of communities, especially
minorities, with education and skills, is critical to addressing online and offline hate
speech.
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Social media platforms should consult and engage with local communities to ensure that
control of hate speech does not result in a backlash; and invest in resources and
expertise in local languages so as to protect the linguistic minorities against content
inciting hate.
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Civil society organizations working on human rights at the intersection of technology
have an important role to produce empirical data, cyber forensic evidence and
document hate crimes. It was also mentioned that independent oversight mechanisms
should highlight violations and that pro human rights algorithms should be developed.
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There is a widespread need to increase understanding of prejudice and identity to build
local resilience to bias; as well as to reinforce the capacities of those who are able to
speak out. It was mentioned that there is underinvestment in prevention work and a
lack of recognition of the importance of front-line organisations working to counter
hate-speech.
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It is key to fight hate speech on an international level; the UN should lead the way by
building a global strategy to monitor and collect data on hate speech. Private initiatives
on the ground that have already established innovative approaches to fight online hate
should be supported.
6. Concluding remarks
The Special Rapporteur on minority issues expressed his satisfaction for having
managed to hold the Forum online, despite the many obstacles with the format. He praised the
perseverance, determination and understanding of everyone involved in making it work. He
also thanked the contributions and recommendations received.
The Special Rapporteur highlighted that despite the difficulties, it seemed that the
Forum had managed to enhance the recognition that minorities are the chief target of hate
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