A/77/512 73. Besides its adverse impact on the human rights of minorities and vulnerable groups, including Jews, the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition is highly contested among world-renowned scholars of antisemitism and related academic fields. 2 About 350 leading scholars support an alternative definition of antisemitism established in the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism, warning that the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition is “unclear in key respects and widely open to different interpretations”, which “has caused confusion and generated controversy, hence weakening the fight against antisemitism”.3 Signatories of the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism include international scholars of antisemitism, among them, pre-eminent Jewish scholars of antisemitism, as well as scholars in related fields such as Jewish, Holocaust, Israel, Palestine and Middle East studies. 74. The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition is largely instrumentalized on the basis of the 11 “contemporary examples of antisemitism” attached to it, 7 of which relate to the State of Israel. Some of the examples are being invoked and leveraged to suppress human rights and fundamental freedoms, such as freedom of expression, assembly and political participation and the right to equality and non-discrimination. 4 75. Although the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition is promoted as being “non-legally binding”, its de facto influence on the policy and practice of governments and private actors has contributed to violations of the human rights of freedom of expression, assembly and political participation, among others. 5 The Special Rapporteur observes that it is precisely the “soft law” status of the working definition that effectively helps to undermine certain co-existent rights, without offering any remedy or means to legally challenge such violations. Indeed, even Kenneth Stern, the lead drafter of the working definition, has publicly denounced the instrumentalization of the working definition, including to the detriment of freedom of expression on university campuses. 6 76. The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition and the illustrative examples attached to it are wielded to prevent or suppress legitimate __________________ 2 3 4 5 6 22-22915 See, for example, Peter Ullrich, Brian Klug and Amos Goldberg, “Expert submission in the context of a public consultation launched by the European Commission for its upcoming ‘Strategy on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life in the EU’”, 5 July 2021, available at https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/13068-Strategy-oncombating-antisemitism-and-fostering-Jewish-life-in-the-EU/F2661357_en; and Taner Akçam and others, “Call by scholars on global leaders at Malmö Forum on Combating Antisemitism”, 11 October 2021, available at https://s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/euobs-media/b7602129 dc4791bd47267b593f517caa.pdf. Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism, released on 25 March 2021. Rebecca Ruth Gould, “Legal Form and Legal Legitimacy: The IHRA Definition of Antisemitism As a Case Study in Censored Speech”, Law, Culture and the Humanities, vol. 18, No. 1 (February 2022); Palestine Legal, “Backgrounder on efforts to redefine antisemitism as a means of censoring criticism of Israel”, January 2020; Rowan Gaudet, “IHRA Definition At Work”, Independent Jewish Voices Canada, updated 4 March 2022; and European Legal Support Center, “Berlin Court Finds Deutsche Welle Unlawfully Dismissed Journalist Farah Maraqa”, updated 11 September 2022. The political adoption and promotion of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of antisemitism across the European Union, for example, has facilitated human rights violations and incidents that are cause for alarm. See communications of the special procedures mandate holders AL DEU 3/2019 and AL AUT 2/2022, which can be found in the communications database of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, avai lable at https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/Tmsearch/TMDocuments. Ibid. Kenneth Stern, “I drafted the definition of antisemitism. Rightwing Jews are weaponizing it”, The Guardian, 13 December 2019, available at www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/dec/ 13/antisemitism-executive-order-trump-chilling-effect. 15/20