The Council of Europe launched a hybrid training course with representatives from different state institutions, Public Defenders office and civil society organisations on ECRI General Policy Recommandation No. 15 on combating hate speech. The opening session of the course took place on 12 September and the learning activity will continue for two months, comprising of webinars and online learning modules.
The course aims to familiarise participants with the definitions, standards and approaches proposed by the Committee of Ministers recommendation on combating hate speech CM/Rec(2022)16 and the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) General Policy Recommendation No. 15 on combating hate speech. It will also develop participants’ understanding of the concept of hate speech, its forms, causes and consequences, and introduce various tools on addressing hate speech. Also, one of the objectives of the course is to motivate the participants to take action against hate speech, to form a network of stakeholders to cooperate in combatting hate speech and implement GPR 15 recommendations in Georgia.
The course, which consists of eight topics, follows the structure and the content of the ECRI GPR 15 on combating hate speech. It is available on the Council of Europe’s HELP online platform and refers to the Committee of Ministers Recommendation CM/Rec(2022)16. In the upcoming period, the 21 participants attending the course will learn more about:
- Defining and identifying hate speech
- Raising public awareness and using counter-speech
- Support for those targeted by hate speech
- Self-regulation as a means of tackling the use of hate speech
- Media, the internet and hate speech
- Administrative and civil liability for the use of hate speech
- Administrative and other sanctions against organizations that use hate speech
- Criminal liability and sanctions for the use of hate speech
This event is part of the European Union and Council of Europe joint programme “Partnership for Good Governance”, co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe, and implemented by the Council of Europe, in the framework of the project “Combating hate speech in Georgia”.
