The International Day for Countering Hate Speech (18 June) is an opportunity to raise awareness of the risks posed by hate speech to human rights, democracy and the rule of law and take collective action to implement the principles of the Council of Europe Recommendation on Combating Hate Speech. With this in mind, a regional seminar was organised with the aim to address ways of dealing with individual redress of cases of discrimination, hate speech and hate crimes, and facilitating access to justice for victims. It was organised as part of the co-operation the Council of Europe has established with the European Union, notably through the Horizontal Facility and Partnership for Good Governance programmes.
This regional seminar, provided to participants the opportunity to exchange with professionals working on a daily basis to address hate speech, the commitment to ensure that people can live free from discrimination, and to countering hate speech and hate crime which jeopardise human dignity and equality. In this context the European Union and the Council of Europe will continue assisting their work in this area, thanks to the rich standards and monitoring recommendations available to its member states, and the close partnership with the European Union in this endeavour.
Equality bodies, have diverse mandates and are in the forefront to address individual cases of discrimination and hate speech in the local context. However, they share similar challenges in addressing such phenomena in the society, and when offering redress. During the discussions held in this regional seminar, participants shared the common commitment to improve the countering of hate speech and exchanged good practices, while they identified joint challenges in assisting victims of hate speech.
The Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers Recommendation on Combating Hate Speech is more relevant than ever, and its set of legal and non-legal measures calls for immediate action by national authorities, equality bodies, media, civil society, internet intermediaries, academia and other key stakeholders. Through a comprehensive and right-based approach, we can counter hate speech and promote a culture of human rights across Europe.
This event was organised within the framework of European Union/Council of Europe Joint programmes Partnership for Good Governance and Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye.
