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Raising awareness on hate speech in the Republic of Moldova

Hate speech harms individuals and the groups it targets, and it harms the social cohesion and democratic principles of societies.

To raise awareness in the Republic of Moldova about this issue, several activities are carried out in the second half of 2021 by the regional project “Strengthening the access to justice for victims of discrimination, hate crime and hate speech in the Eastern Partnership”, with the input of project beneficiaries: the Equality Council, the Ombudsman Office and Promo-LEX Association.

  • A video to inform the general public about hate speech, its mechanisms and how victims or witnesses can access redress to hate speech was created.
  • A series of web articles, developed in co-operation with the independent journalism platform "Oameni si Kilometri", will tackle hate speech and discrimination from the perspective of targeted groups, such as LGBTI, Roma women, children with disabilities, etc.

This campaign targets anyone who feels the need to understand the phenomenon of hate speech better and wishes to do something to combat it, taking a stance against it in diverse societies they live in. It provides proposals for actions to prevent and fight hate speech and contacts that can be addressed by the victims of discrimination and hate speech.

This awareness raising material was prepared in the framework of the project "Strengthening access to justice for victims of discrimination, hate crime and hate speech in the Eastern Partnership," funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe in their Partnership for Good Governance II 2019-2022.

 Read the first web article "Tolea, it's still me!" available in English, Romanian and Russian

 Read the second web article "The [in]visible line" in English, Romanian and Russian

 Read the third web article "Resistance" in English, Romanian and Russian

 Read the fourt web article "It's like I'm the celebrity of the village" in English, Romanian and Russian

 Read the fifth web article "Immunised against dissability" in English, Romanian and Russian

 Read the sixth web article "Muhammad and the mountain of hatred" in English, Romanian and Russian

 Watch now the awareness raising video available in English, Romanian and Russian

Republic of Moldova 13 July 2021
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Strasbourg, France Strasbourg, 1-2 July 2024
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Addressing hate speech and hate crime: regional gathering of the network of Equality Bodies from the Western Balkans and the Eastern Partnership Region

A two-day workshop on addressing hate speech and hate crime took place at the premises of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, involving Equality bodies from the Western Balkans and the Eastern Partnership regions.  The event supported by the EU and Council of Europe, gathered 50 representatives from both regions who discussed and exchanged on the best practices, measures and common challenges when addressing hate speech and hate crime. Through monitoring and reporting, policy advocacy, raising awareness and supporting victims equality bodies play a fundamental role in protecting human rights and ensuring that all individuals are treated equally.

In her opening remarks, Angela Longo, Head of Anti-discrimination Co-operation Unit, Council of Europe, underlined the significant progress in engaging with Equality Bodies through this network, regularly exchanging best practices and addressing the challenges of hatred and intolerance in societies. She highlighted that this new chapter of discussion delves into the grey area between hate speech and hate crime, addressing issues of incitement and biases,

Representatives from Equality Bodies had the opportunity to discuss and enhance their knowledge on the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers Recommendation to member States on combating hate crime, adopted on 7th May 2024, as well as gain a clearer understanding of EU standards in the field of hate crime. Moreover, participants engaged in exchanges with peers from the Spanish Observatory on Racism and Xenophobia (OBERAXE), who shared insights on addressing hate speech in the public discourse. The National Office Against Racial Discrimination (UNAR) in Italy provided practical examples for developing counter-narratives and raising awareness initiatives.

They also explored opportunities to advocate for legislative reform, foster multisectoral co-operation, enhance data collection, and overall improve national mechanisms to counter hate crimes.

This seminar was organised within the action “Promoting equality and combating racism and intolerance in the Western Balkans” and the project “Promoting equality and non-discrimination: towards more resilient and inclusive societies” – co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe, and implemented by the Council of Europe  under the joint Programmes “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye” and “Partnership for Good Governance”.

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