A/HRC/26/49
initiative, where the use of Internet in the classroom and curriculum is encouraged for an
inclusive and tolerant curriculum, and makes recommendations for the development of new
practices, particularly for youth with different cultural backgrounds and perspectives.
30.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has also addressed the issue of
cybercrime, including specific computer-related acts involving racism and xenophobia, by
various means, such as providing technical assistance and training to States to improve
national legislation and building the capacity of national authorities to prevent, detect,
investigate and prosecute such crimes in all their forms. The International
Telecommunication Union (ITU) has also been involved in the issue of cybersecurity and
efforts to combat cybercrime since the World Summit on the Information Society and the
ITU Plenipotentiary Conference, held in Guadalajara, Mexico, in 2010. ITU has also
initiated the Global Cybersecurity Agenda, a framework for international cooperation
aimed at enhancing global public confidence and security in the information society. ITU
provides Member States with support through specific initiatives and activities related to
legal, technical and procedural measures, organizational structures,
and
capacitybuilding and international cooperation on cybersecurity.
2.
Regional frameworks and initiatives
31.
At the regional level, the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime and the
Additional Protocol thereto constitute a legally binding framework with the widest reach.
The Convention, which entered into force on 1 July 2004, is the first international treaty on
crimes committed via the Internet and other computer networks dealing particularly with
infringements of copyright, computer-related fraud, child pornography and violations of
network security. The Additional Protocol, which concerns the criminalization of acts of a
racist and xenophobic nature committed through computer systems and entered into force
on 1 March 2006, makes the publication of racist and xenophobic propaganda via computer
networks a criminal offence. The Additional Protocol also specifies that States parties are to
adopt legislative and other measures that make a number of actions criminal offenses,
including distributing or otherwise making available racist and xenophobic material; racist
and xenophobic-motivated threats; racist and xenophobic-motivated insults; the denial,
gross minimization, approval or justification of genocide or crimes against humanity; and
aiding and abetting any of these actions.
32.
The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance adopted General Policy
Recommendation No. 6 in 2000, which focuses on combating the dissemination of racist,
xenophobic, and anti-Semitic material on the Internet. The Commission also outlined a set
of recommendations for Council of Europe Member States, one of which was the passing of
a protocol to address racism and xenophobia on the Internet, which led to the abovementioned Additional Protocol. The Commission has also published reports on reconciling
freedom of expression with combating racism and on addressing racist content on the
Internet.
33.
The Council of Europe sponsored two initiatives against racism and hate on the
Internet. The No Hate Speech Movement, a campaign focused on youth, was launched in
2012 to map hate speech online, to raise awareness about the risks that hate speech pose to
democracy, to reduce acceptance of hate speech online and to advocate development and
consensus on European policy instruments combating hate speech. This initiative also led to
the creation of Hate Speech Watch, an online platform designed to monitor online hate
speech content and to facilitate coordinated action against it. The Council of Europe has
also initiated Young People Combating Hate Speech Online, an initiative with the aim of
equipping young people and youth organizations with competences and tools to recognize
and take positive action against discrimination and hate speech.
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