hate speech is increasing with the existing instruments in place. The Rabat Plan of Action is a
positive tool but it has to be built upon. He also stressed that very little has been proposed
concretely to address the scourge of hate speech against minorities. Data is necessary and
perhaps it should be a legal requirement on social media and platform owners to collect and
divulge this data. Policies and ensuring respect for human rights cannot be based on repression.
Education and awareness rising also needs to be part of the measures to address this “tsunami”
as described by the Secretary General of the UN.
The Special Rapporteur said that in addition to bringing to the UN Human Rights Council
in March 2021, a report with the recommendations of the regional Forums and this one, he’ll
also be looking at setting up a Working Group to take the insights and suggestions presented.
He would like to see if a practical guide can be built, with concrete suggestions on what
constitutes prohibited hate speech against minorities; what should be the legal obligations
states impose on social media platform owners; and other forms of regulation based on the
responsibility of states, the responsibilities of the social media themselves, as well as awareness
raising tools that cold be presented at the United Nations.
The Chair of the Forum noted that it is very important to start re-imagining things. It is
not sufficient for an issue such as hate speech to be tackled just by states, or NGOs or tech
companies. She called for a proper synergy between the different stakeholders in order to
facilitate effective and efficient results. She stressed that the Forum is one of its kind to allow
for this kind of discussion. She encouraged to start focusing on collective cooperation, as in the
past two days. She added that we really need to start de-constructing this “other” that has
been created in our societies and subsequently manifested on social media. There is a need to
re-conceptualise our identity and how beautiful our identity can be when we embrace that
“other”, that we are often taught to fear and often taught to hate. She stressed that initiatives
like this put us on a very good path. She concluded thanking everybody who allowed the Forum
to take place, despite the difficulties of the digital mode and thanked all participants.
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