“Words kill as bullets… We all have to remember that hate crimes are preceded by hate speech.”
– Adama Dieng, United Nations Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide. [1]
Hate is the opposite of love, therefore represents the opposite of everything we seek to obtain as human beings, but it is an element that exists in this world, rather than an element that is widely spread, and it represents a release button to push people under its influence to commit crimes and massacres, and history is full of evidence and clues of its impact.
We have not yet reached a universal, legal definition of the term “Hate Speech”, however, the United Nations Strategy and Plan of Action on Hate Speech understand hate speech to include “any kind of communication in speech, writing or behaviour, that attacks or uses pejorative or discriminatory language with reference to a person or a group on the basis of who they are, in other words, based on their religion, ethnicity, nationality, race, color, descent, gender or another identity factor.” [2]
We are all human beings, with different principles and habits, so what motive do we have to feel a prior hatred for someone, without having dealt with them beforehand? We just hate it because the inner voice stems from the thoughts embedded in our subconscious, those thoughts that we absorb from our surroundings, that is why we have to pay attention to these thoughts, find their source, and fix it because love is a much better feeling.
This does not contradict freedom of expression and opinion at all, it is only a tool that prevents this opinion from changing from personal freedom, into attacking a person or sect or a means of incitement and hostility against others.
Also read: World Day Against Child Labour.
In our current path towards a better world, and in response to the alarming trends prevalent in this era, from racism to xenophobia, anti-Muslim movements, and gender-based violence, the plans and achievements in these areas have varied, however, on June 18, 2019, the United Nations General Assembly launched “The United Nations Strategy and Plan of Action on Hate Speech” as the first UN system-wide initiative designed to tackle hate speech. [3]
The United Nations General Assembly, unanimously by its 193 Member States, with the support of more than 75 countries, adopted a resolution submitted by Morocco on combating hate speech, which declares, for the first time in the records of the United Nations, June 18 of each year as the “International Day for Countering Hate Speech”. [4]
It will be celebrated for the first time in 2022 [3], as an opportunity for the peoples of the world to unite in the face of hate speech and stereotypes that spread the seeds of discord and hostility between peoples, for us to confront them and work together hand in hand towards building the safe world that we dream of.
When the quarantine and curfew were imposed on the peoples of the world, the aim was to ensure the safety of all humans and protect them from the virus, for which a cure has not yet been discovered, and people resorted to the electronic world to facilitate their work, study, and enjoy their time, but a horrible phenomenon appeared on the horizon, which highlighted hatred buried in the souls of some people, and those voices that spread feelings of hatred, xenophobia and blaming others spread faster than wildfire.
The situation became more gruesome as the virus tightened its grip on us, voices began calling for foreigners to be deprived of health care, and that the elderly -the most affected by the virus- could be dispensed with.
As a result, the need for movements against these voices increased, and Antonio Guterres was one of the people who alerted the international world to the dangers of this phenomenon, saying: “We must act now to strengthen the immunity of our societies against the virus of hate.
That’s why I’m appealing today for an all-out effort to end hate speech globally. I call on educational institutions to focus on digital literacy at a time when billions of young people are online – and when extremists are seeking to prey on captive and potentially despairing audiences.” [5]
Over the years, women have been continuously exposed to hate speech, which affected their ability to express their opinion, and then their ability to hold their rights, even their ability to lead a free decent life.
These crimes get worse when people absolve the perpetrators so they appear as the hero of these stories. There are crimes of physical harassment and trafficking in women, and there are domestic violence and honor crimes, all of which carry with them a hatred directed against the woman who stands up to the aggressor, and the world stands in her face.
Campaigns and initiatives that try to do justice to these women have emerged, such as the 16 Days Campaign to Combat Gender-Based Violence, and the United Nations has presented many projects that help women obtain their rights in various fields. In this field, the electronic world was a double-edged sword, as calls for love and women’s rights increased, and at the same time, speeches that spread hate increased.
Electronic bullying appeared, which affected women’s self-confidence and set unrealistic standards of beauty. But there is still hope, as hatred appeared, love also did, those who stand in the face of such injustice, of men and women, and those who were fair to women have all shown up. Of course, we have not finished the work yet, but we are certainly on the right path.
We, at Uplifting Syrian Women Initiative, always strive to spread love and peace among all spectrums of people, and we call for justice for the weak in this society.
As part of this progressing technological era, we must spread peace and amity among the people of the world. We may not be able to end hatred, but this does not prevent us as responsible people from moving in that direction and doing our best to make the largest possible impact.
♀️ Uplifting Syrian Women Initiative aims at sustainable peace building in Syria through targeting women and providing them with free online courses, workshops, discussion sessions and trainings, with a view to achieving the goals of Gender Equality, Quality Education and Decent Work and Economic Growth, which all fall into the interest of society as a whole and serve the purpose of rebuilding it.
References:
[2] United Nations- Human Rights
[3] United Nations- Hate Speech
[4] Maroc.ma