AfriForum Thank you, Chairperson. Hate speech against minorities in South Africa is a persistent and serious crisis. It should be regarded within the context of the ongoing scourge of attacks and murders in South Africa’s farms. The crisis is not limited to social media, it regularly comes from some of the county’s most influential politicians, including leaders of the government and the ruling party. Hate speech songs, such as “Kill the Boer, kill the Farmer”, “One bullet, one settler”, “Shoot the Boer”, and different variations thereof are regularly sung in the South African political landscape. This hate speech has real life consequences. A study by AfriForum found that it is common for farmer attacks and murders to increase in the months following incidents of hate speech that receive substantial coverage in the media. After analyzing five incidents of high-profile hate speech directed at white farmers, AfriForum found an average increase in farm murders of 74.8% in the months following these incidents. In 2012, former President Jacob Sumer sang “Shoot the Boer” at an MC gallery. In the months that followed, sixteen farmer attacks occurred and six people were murdered. Julius [?] of the Economic Freedom Fighters has stated that all white people are criminals and should be treated as such, and that “we are not calling for the slaughtering of white people, at least for now”. The South African human rights commission has become part of the problem by declaring that the race of the perpetrator should be a determining factor on whether such comments can in fact be regarded as hate speech. Hate speech against minorities in South Africa is not being taken seriously by the authorities. AfriForum has stepped up its fight against hate speech against minorities. AfriForum is combating hate speech against minorities in South Africa through various interventions, including dialogue, research, and court battles. Our campaign is also pursued on the Internet through the “The World Must Know” campaign, in which awareness is raised about the crises and international role players are lobbied to take a stance on those issues. Thank you very much.