UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has expressed concern over the rise of racism and intolerance in liberal democracies and authoritarian states, and said hate speech is “spreading like wildfire” through social media.
“I am deeply alarmed by the current rise of xenophobia,racism and intolerance, fed increasingly by nationalist and populistideologies,” Guterres said.
Hate speech is entering the “mainstream, spreading likewildfire through social media and radio. We are seeing it spread in liberaldemocracies and authoritarian states alike”, he said at an event at the UN General Assembly onMonday.
The event was held to commemorate International Day for theElimination of Racial Discrimination.
Guterres recalled the New Zealand mosque terrorist attack inwhich 50 people were killed by a self-avowed white supremacist gunman as “thelatest tragedy rooted in such poison.”
The UN Chief had last Friday visited the Islamic Center inNew York to show solidarity and express his outrage.
“Today and every day, we must stand united against racialand religious hatred and the terrorism of bigots,” he said.
Guterres observed the Day to renew the “promise to endracism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, includingsocial and ethnic discrimination, anti-Muslim hatred and anti-semitism.”
He voiced concern that “no country or community is immune”to the rising xenophobia and racism, emphasising that “these dark forces”menace democratic values, social stability and peace, and stigmatize women,minorities, migrants and refugees.
“When people are attacked, physically, verbally or on socialmedia, because of their race, religion or ethnicity, all of society isdiminished. It is crucial for all of us to join hands, stand up and defend theprinciples of equality and human dignity,” Guterres said.
In order to combat hate speech, and “defend the principlesof equality and human dignity,” he asked his special adviser on the preventionof genocide, AdamaDieng, to coordinate a strategy and plan of action for the UNsystem.
“We need to engage everyone in dismantling the harmful andspecious notion of racial superiority” he said, emphasising that the recentsurge of neo-Nazi thinking and white supremacist ideology must be buried “once andfor all.”
This step can be supported by national legislation, whichpromotes non-discrimination, and by politicians and religious leaders, whospeak out against intolerance and hate speech, Guterres said.
“We are all connected by our humanity. We are allequal. We should all be looking out foreach other’s welfare,” he said.
General Assembly President Maria Fernanda Espinosa pointedto an observation of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bacheletthat populists rely on demonising the “other”, saying that across the world,”populists are exploiting the legitimate grievances of those who feel leftbehind.”
“Hate speech isn’t free speech. It’s racism,” she said,adding that blaming problems on migrants must be pushed back and short-sightednationalism must not be allowed to derail the search for global solutions.
“The challenges we face require global co-operation likenever before.
“Multilateralism makes us stronger, not weaker. The 2030Agenda is a framework all governments can use to respond to the needs andaspirations of their citizens,” Espinosa said.
Separately in his message to mark the International Day ofRemembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade,Guterres called on the international community to raise awareness of thedangers of racism and “stand up against old and new forms of slavery.”
“Slavery and the transatlantic slave trade were among history’s most appalling manifestations of human brutality,” he told delegates from across the world gathered in the General Assembly Hall with a call for “justice and equal opportunities for all people of African descent.”