Tsunami of hate and xenophobia targeting minorities must be tackled, says UN expert

Social media have become platforms for the spread of hate, prejudice and incitement to violence and atrocities against minorities, a UN expert told the Human Rights Council today, calling for an international treaty to address the growing scourge of hate speech against minorities.

“Today’s digital context means minorities are too often, with relative impunity, scapegoated, ‘otherised’, presented as disloyal, or as threats,” said Fernand de Varennes, the UN Special Rapporteur on minority issues.

“It is a warning that I never thought I would have to make.… “It’s time for a human rights centred regulatory framework that provides clarity on the obligations of States, social media businesses and other concerned parties to regulate hate speech, focusing on the most prevalent and harmful forms of hate – and that is hate against minorities,” said de Varennes….

https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=26896&LangID=E