A/75/385 belief minorities drive insecurity and violence in two main ways. Firstly, widespread human rights abuses against religious and belief minorities foster permissive environments wherein respect for religious and belief minorities is diminished to the extent that hostility and violence towards such groups is legitimized. Violence in such contexts may be perpetrated by state and non-state actors, and, at times, with the implicit consent of States, especially where perpetrators enjoy impunity. Such violence can and has escalated –– resulting in widespread atrocities against religious or belief minorities. 31. Secondly, studies show that systemic violations of human rights precede civil unrest, violent extremism and armed conflict in situations where marginalized groups respond to persecution with violence.71 Insufficient attention to reducing inequalities and the exclusion of religious or belief minorities from access to power, opportunities, services and security can fuel alienation and creates fertile ground for the mobilization of group grievances to violence, especially in regions with weak state capacity.72 32. In the face of death threats, violent attacks, harassment, intimidation or discriminatory treatment against individuals or groups, States have a positive obligation to provide a minimum standard of protection for the lives, integrity and personal security of religious or belief minorities and incur responsibilities to take special measures of protection where their lives have been placed at particular risk because of specific threats or pre-existing patterns of violence.73 States also incur responsibility where there is a failure to exercise due diligence to prevent or respond to certain acts or omissions of non-State actors. 33. The Special Rapporteur joins the Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues and other UN entities74 in raising alarm that instability and fear engendered by the current health crisis is exacerbating discrimination, hostility, hate speech, xenophobia and violence against religious and belief minorities in some countries. In this context, the Secretary-General stressed that the health crisis also “can provide a pretext to adopt repressive measures for purposes unrelated to the pandemic.”75 34. Even prior to the current pandemic, political leaders have long been weaponizing public discourse to scapegoat ‘others’, including religious and belief minorities, for various problems in society in order to mobilize support for dispossessing these communities of their rights.76 Dehumanizing and/or vilifying rhetoric assists such leaders advance exclusionary policies that create deep inequalities which in turn bolster supremacist and sectarian ideologies that claim lives. 35. Social media platforms are increasingly exploited as spaces for incitement to hatred and violence by civil, political and religious actors. Jewish and Muslim communities across European countries, including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Finland, France, Greece, The Netherlands, United Kingdom and Georgia, continue to report ongoing ‘hate speech’ online and offline from individuals across the political spectrum. 77 Similar concerns about the spread of real and constructed hate against religious minorities have been raised in India.78 The United Nations’ Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar concluded that Facebook 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 See e.g. Henk-Jan Brinkman, Larry Attree, Saša Hezir, Addressing horizontal inequalities as drivers of conflict in the Post-2015 development agenda (2013); http://www.responsibilitytoprotect.org/files/MRG%20Minority%20Rights,%20Early%20Warning%2 0and%20Conflict%20Prevention%20Lessons%20from%20Darfur.pdf. https://www.sdg16hub.org/system/files/201907/Global%20Alliance%2C%20SDG%2016%2B%20Global%20Report.pdf. CCPR/C/GC/36 para 23. https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=25757&LangID=E. https://www.un.org/sites/un2.un.org/files/un_policy_brief_on_human_rights_and_covid_23_april_20 .pdf. https://www.un.org/en/genocideprevention/documents/18052020_SA%20note%20to%20media% 20on%20India_final.pdf, para696. Submissions from Jacob Blaustein Institute; Media Diversity Institute; Thinc. See, https://www.wsj.com/articles/facebook-hate-speech-india-politics-muslim-hindu-modizuckerberg- 11597423346. 9