A/HRC/46/57 on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and freedom of expression has already strongly and eloquently made in his report. Rather, the present report on social media focuses on elements that have been largely omitted or unaddressed by this and other colleagues and United Nations entities: specifically, the most prevalent forms of hate speech in social media, such as those targeting minorities, and whether, in what contexts and to what extent freedom of expression may be restricted. 32. It should be made clear that even in a report of 2013, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed alarm at the often extraordinarily negative portrayal in many countries of migrants, but also of minority groups, by the media, politicians and other actors in the society, and she called for measures to curb growing xenophobic attitudes and underlined the need to swiftly denounce hate speech and prosecute those suspected of inciting racial violence and those who had perpetrated racist and violent actions (A/HRC/22/17/Add.4, annex, para. 3). Her report included the recommendations and conclusions of a series of expert workshops, which led to the adoption by the experts of the Rabat Plan of Action on the prohibition of advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence (ibid., annex, appendix). 33. One point that emerged during this process still needs to be emphasized much more strongly: the overwhelming majority of cases of hate speech in social media involve minorities as victims and targets. Clarifications, priorities and efforts to combat hate speech should therefore logically focus on minorities. However, this has largely not been the case, with little if any references to minorities – those most often affected by hate speech – in most United Nations and other initiatives. The idea that it is possible to tackle the root causes of some three quarters of cases of hate speech around the world without mentioning that these cases involve mainly minorities, and therefore to develop strategies that are relevant and adapted to this phenomenon, is perplexing to say the least. 34. In any event, the starting point for addressing the scourge of hate speech in social media must be full respect of freedom of expression. It follows that whatever the nature or content of hate speech, international law provides for only a limited number of permissible restrictions on freedom of expression. As outlined in the present report, it is therefore essential to clearly set out the human rights obligations and responsibilities of the parties most directly involved, particularly States and owners of social media platforms, as they relate to the most often occurring instances of hate speech in social media, namely those against minorities. C. A contextualization: a pandemic of hate and the obligation to take action against prohibited forms of hate speech in social media 1. A spreading poison of minds 35. Freedom of expression should not be restricted, except where absolutely necessary. Unfortunately, until now, States and owners of social media platforms have largely been unable or unwilling to acknowledge and address the most vile and dangerous forms of hate circulating in the world targeting minorities and not only poisoning the minds of individuals, but also threatening the peace and stability of entire countries. 36. The Secretary-General did recognize that the pandemic had given rise to a new wave of hate, xenophobia, scapegoating and scaremongering, and that anti-foreigner sentiment had surged online and in the streets, antisemitic conspiracy theories had spread, and anti-Muslim attacks related to COVID-19 had occurred. 4 More precisely, this hatred mainly targets minorities. The pandemic has been weaponized by some and monetized by others, but this has been increasingly the case for the past decade. Minorities and other vulnerable groups constitute the majority of victims of incitement to hatred. 4 6 See “United Nations guidance note on addressing and countering COVID-19 related hate speech”, 11 May 2020.