Representative delivering the statement: Mr. Sacha Elkaim
Thank you, Madam President.
The World Jewish Congress, representing Jewish communities in more than 100 countries, would like to thank the Special Rapporteur, Dr. Fernand de Varennes, for his important work in combating hate speech, incitement and discrimination against all minorities We applaud his focus, as part of his mandate, on these important issues and commend him on his decision to hold a series of regional forums on the topic of minorities and hate speech in 2020.
Regrettably, in the past few years, we have witnessed an alarming proliferation of hate speech, especially online, targeting Jews and other minority groups, which has been accompanied by an increase in crimes and incidents targeting the most vulnerable.
Mr. Rapporteur, you echoed a similar sentiment when you participated at the High-Level Meeting to prevent and combat antisemitism, racism, xenophobia, radicalization and hate speech, organized by the World Jewish Congress and the Romanian EU Presidency in June 2019. You spoke out against the dehumanization of minorities and reminded us how hate speech, propaganda, fake news and conspiracies were the building blocks of mass atrocities and even genocide.
Mr. Rapporteur, in light of the above, how can civil society and the Human Rights Council work together to prevent the rise of hate speech against all minorities?
Thank you.
