Role of education to address the root causes of hate speech and advance inclusion, non-discrimination, and peace

Excellences,

Colleagues,

It is a pleasure to join you today.

I thank the Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Morocco and the Office of the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide for convening us for this timely event.

In Our Common Agenda, the Secretary-General notes that “racism, intolerance and discrimination continue to exist in all societies”. They act as a fuel to the wildfire that has become hate speech, spreading and on the rise around the world, amplified on our digital age.

Continuing tensions among  people and communities, especially due to unaddressed historical legacies, have recently heightened the attention of the UN system and of Member States to  negative stereotyping and incitement to violence.

As stressed by the Secretary-General, “hatred is a danger to everyone”.

As we know, States have substantive positive legal obligations to take effective measures against discrimination. They also have the responsibility to advance positive values of mutual understanding and respect for human rights, fundamental freedoms and human diversity, and to shape their education systems accordingly.

Education must be at the centre of our efforts, especially as a prevention tool.

It can be the basis to countering intolerance and discrimination, raising awareness, addressing the root causes of hate speech and advancing inclusion and peaceful coexistence.

It is essential to developing awareness and skills that help everyone to identify their own and other people’s biases.

And it is key to helping them know and, therefore, claim their human rights.  

But for that, and to address an issue as complex as hate speech, we need a holistic approach, including measures not only in the field of education, but also culture and information interlinked, with a view to eliminating racial and gender-based prejudices.

A key word in the field of education, although a mouthful, I admit, is multiperspectivity. As the Special Rapporteur on cultural rights recommended, history teaching “should aim at fostering critical thinking, analytic learning and debate; stressing the complexity of history, it should enable a comparative and multi-perspective approach.”

One specific challenge in this area is coming together to discuss divisive historical narratives promoted by different communities. Such narratives can fuel hate speech and foment existing grievances and aggravate deeply embedded tensions between communities. United Nations presences on the ground know that hate speech and incitement to violence are some of the most important early warning indicators of violence.

Addressing hate speech at an early stage, including through education, is thus one of the most important tools to prevent conflict.

An element that we often overlook is that the right to education is one of several core economic, social and cultural rights – the realization of which is central to the stability and welfare of societies. In our efforts to identify and understand drivers of hate speech, we must also strengthen our analysis of underlying inequalities which most often arise as a result of the lack or unequal implementation of economic, social and cultural rights and the marginalization of some groups.

Guided by the Secretary-General’s Strategy and Plan of Action on Hate Speech, our Office is working hand in hand with the Office of the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide on a range of efforts to combat hate speech. This includes support to UN Country Teams and other field presences to adopt human rights-based hate speech strategies.

At country level, the Strategy and our own Office-wide Plan of Action on Hate Speech help direct our work with national and local authorities and communities to prevent and address hate speech, including through education. For instance, as part of the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI), the Human Rights Office works closely with the Iraqi Government to promote inclusive and equitable education for all children in Iraq. Tomorrow, on the International Day on Countering Hate Speech, the Office will hold three events that brings together Iraqi primary school children from different ethnic and religious background to promote mutual understanding, tolerance and appreciation of each other’s rich and varied cultures.

In this regard, this year’s celebration of the 30th anniversary of the 1992 UN Declaration on the Rights of Minorities presents an important opportunity to accelerate our efforts at local, national, regional and international levels. This is critical, as stigmatization and discrimination, online and offline, have particularly targeted members of minority communities across the world.¹

Our Office looks forward to enhancing our existing cooperation and finding new ways to counter incitement and hate crimes in close partnership with all relevant stakeholders.

Colleagues,

As the High Commissioner said, “tackling hate speech is the responsibility of all. Everyone, everywhere can and must stand against hate and stand up for human rights”.

And there are many ways in which we can do so.

We need to do more to protect faith-based minorities, including their cultures and places of worship.

We should work more closely with political, religious and civic leaders and encourage them to speak out firmly and promptly against intolerance, discriminatory stereotyping and instances of hate speech.

And we need to support the development and dissemination of teaching materials and curricula should promote respect for pluralism and diversity in all areas of life.

Thank you.