Back The fight against hate speech remains high on the agenda of the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality

The fight against hate speech remains high on the agenda of the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality

Within the frame of the European Union and the Council of Europe action on "Promotion of diversity and equality in Serbia", in the period from 25 to 26 November 2022 in the City of Arandjelovac, a two-day seminar was organised for employees of the Professional Service of the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality. The activity focused on the concept and forms of discrimination and hate speech, with an emphasis on the vulnerability to hatred of LGBTI persons. This fits in the overall aim of the action, to strengthen the capacity of national and local actors to better address issues related to the fight against discrimination, hate speech and the protection of the rights of national minorities and LGBTI people, in accordance with the standards and recommendations set by the Council of Europe.

During the seminar that was realised in partnership with the Commissioner for Protection of Equality, participants had the opportunity to learn more about the Recommendation of the Council of Ministers to member states CM/Rec (2010)5 on measures to combat discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity and Resolution 1728 (2010) on discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

"The fight against hate speech will be the focus of the institution's work in the coming period due to the ever-present hate speech along with sexism, misogyny, humiliating and offensive behaviour, as evidenced by the significant number of complaints that reach the Commissioner", said the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality Brankica Janković.

Ninoslav Mladenović, Senior Project Officer, pointed out that strong joint efforts of institutions and individuals are needed, that can contribute significantly to the fight against hate speech, because every individual has an important role in responding to hate speech with positive speech and mutual respect.

Also, the participants were acquainted with the normative framework for protection against discrimination and the results of research on hate speech in the media in Serbia from the Report on the use of hate speech in the media in Serbia.

The activity is implemented within the action “Promotion of diversity and equality in Serbia”, part of the joint European Union and the Council of Europe programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey 2019-2022”.

Arandjelovac 28 November 2022
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