Human Rights Day 2022: Silencing Hate

Dear excellencies, dear minister, dear deputy protector, guests, dear friends of the United Nations,

It is a great pleasure to welcome you to commemorate jointly the anniversary of an important milestone - the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, by the UN’s General Assembly, on 10 December 1948.

This declaration was written by people with different legal and cultural backgrounds, from all regions of the world. Written as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, religions and faiths, political orientation and beliefs, and differences of all kinds.

The universal declaration sets out aspirations of individuals, communities and peoples around the world to live free from fear, and with the freedom to speak freely, and live a life of equal opportunities. The fact is that the declaration of human rights is the most translated document in the world - it exists in 370 languages – which is a true testimony if its relevance I believe.

These freedoms are unfortunately yet to be attained by many people around the globe. And as a matter of fact, the notion of human rights has been under attack for some time now in many parts of our world. Nevertheless, at 74 years of age, this declaration it is as relevant and important today as when it was adopted in Paris on the 10th of December 1948.

Because today, we witness deep divisions in societies, we can see a regression in many areas for instance when it comes to hard fought rights of women or minority rights just as examples. And rather than respecting and embracing differences, which must be a natural consequence of 8 billion people living on one planet, differences are often being played out to divide groups for short-term political reasons or other gain.

We hear more and more divisive narratives, disinformation, and fake news, rather than facts and evidence-based stories. This leads to discrimination, hate speech and even to hate crime. History has shown how far this can go. The Holocaust did not start with the gas chambers, but with accepting hate speech. Tomorrow, we commemorate the 1948 Genocide Convention - actually the first human rights treaty adopted by the General Assembly, a day before the Universal Declaration. It stresses the international community’s commitment to ‘never again’ after the atrocities committed during the Second World War.

We have unfortunately also seen a rise in hate speech in Montenegro in recent years. Sadly, this is not a concern only here. The UN recognizes that hate speech has become a global problem. The scale and impact nowadays, especially with social media as a global platform for spreading hate, is larger and growing faster than ever. It was therefore that the UN, in 2019, adopted a Global Strategy and Action Plan on Hate Speech. Because we in the UN family seek to take joint and more action to tackle hate speech and do more to help Members State to do so as well. In Montenegro, the UN is closely observing incidents and trends, analysing causes, working with young people, with media, supporting education in schools that promotes respect and diversity, and amplifying positive stories for instance of refugees, among other things.

As I said earlier this year - on the first anniversary of the international day to counter hate speech, 18 June - tackling hate speech does not mean limiting the freedom of expression in an arbitrary or unlawful way. It means preventing hatred from escalating into something dangerous, particularly incitement to discrimination, hostility, and violence, which is forbidden in law.

The UN therefore calls for more speech rather than less. Because freedom of expression is the norm; limiting it is the exception. But we must respect the rights and dignity of all, women, men, children, persons with disabilities, elderly, ethnic, religious and sexual minorities, among others.

There must be swift accountability when speech has crossed the boundaries of the law. Facts needs to be ascertained and justice needs to be done.

Today, I am pleased that we are bringing you together to hear the voices of some of those who have been exposed to hate speech in this country, simply because of who they are or for what they do, or just because they are or are perceived as different. Their stories deserve our full attention, and they deserve our fullest support. I commend you, who will speak at the panel today, both for your courage and for your willingness to share your experiences with all of us.

Let today be a good opportunity for us all to reflect on the reality we live in, and what we can do as individuals, but also as leaders, as many of us are or will be of tomorrow. I am of the strong belief that leaders, whether political, religious, social or of another nature, have a key role to play to mitigate hate in society, especially within their own constituencies. And we should all lead by example.

I am strongly convinced that leaders who embrace inclusion, give space and opportunity to all on an equal basis, and who truly respect diversity and value differences of opinion, will see their societies thrive and prosper on all levels.

Montenegro is proud of being a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-religious society. Let us stand up for human rights and join hands to support Montenegro to stay on this rightful path as we move forward.

Thank you for your attention.

Hvala vam.