Preventing and combating Hate Speech in times of crisis: The Council of Europe publishes a new study

A new study was commissioned and published in November 2023 by the Council of Europe Steering Committee on Anti-Discrimination, Diversity and Inclusion (CDADI). This publication is part of the recent work on Hate Speech of the Strasbourg based Pan-European Organisation comprising 46 European member States.

It builds on Recommendation CM/Rec(2022)16 of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers to member States on combating hate speech, adopted in 2022.  The publication reviews hate speech trends that occurred in Europe during crises in recent years, including the Covid-19 pandemic and the military aggression of Russia against Ukraine, identifies challenges and limits of existing measures to combat such phenomena.

Due to such crises new challenges have emerged for different actors in monitoring analysing, preventing and combating hate speech, including the very definition of this phenomenon characterised by new complexity.

Among key recommendations provided by the new study we can read the amending of the legal frameworks, enhancing education and training, collaboration between media, reinforcement of national human rights institutions and equality bodies, and the prioritisation of the support provided to those targeted by hate speech.