The UN General Assembly has adopted a resolution introduced by Morocco to counter hate speech and promote tolerance and moderation following the latest offensive, disrespectful and provocative acts of burning the holy Quran in Sweden and Denmark.
The resolution, approved by the 193 UN members, seeks to promote interreligious and intercultural dialogue and tolerance. It calls on all UN members to engage with all relevant stakeholders to respect diversity, support peaceful coexistence, and reject the spread of hate speech which constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility, and violence.
It also calls on social media companies to counter hate speech and address its increasing spread, enable research into measures to reduce it and promote users’ access to effective reporting channels.
The resolution urges political and religious leaders to promote inclusion and unity and to speak out and take strong action against racism, xenophobia, hate speech, violence, and discrimination.
It welcomes the proclamation of the first week of February of every year as the World Interfaith Harmony Week between all religions, faiths, and beliefs.
It invites all UN Member States, the UN system, regional and non-governmental organizations, and other relevant stakeholders to increase their understanding of the plan of action for religious leaders and actors to prevent incitement to violence that could lead to atrocity crimes.
The resolution encourages all UN member countries and international organizations to launch public awareness campaigns against the dangers of intolerance and sectarian violence, calling for the promotion of tolerance, human rights, and moderation.
The resolution notes with appreciation the 9th UN Alliance of Civilizations Global Forum, held in Fez in 2022 under the theme “Towards an alliance of peace: living together as one humanity”, that adopted the Fez Declaration, and focused, among other issues, on countering and addressing online hate speech on social media.
