Active civil society involvement and institutional responses crucial to stamping out hate speech, say OSCE conference participants in Kosovo
PRISHTINË/PRIŠTINA, 13 June 2014 – The Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, Ambassador Jean –Claude Schlumberger, and the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović, opened today in Prishtinё/Priština a one-day regional conference on taking action against hate speech without violating the freedom of expression.
The OSCE conference was attended by more than 50 journalists, legal experts, civil society and institutional representatives from the Western Balkans who examined legal provisions and practices applied in the region in an effort to curtail hate speech. They said that active civil society involvement and appropriate institutional responses are crucial to stamping out hate speech, including on the Internet.
“Hate speech can harm those it is directed against as it fuels discrimination, violence and other human rights abuses,” said Ambassador Schlumberger. “Taking hate speech out of public discourse is, therefore, very important for the reconciliation and building of trust between different groups and communities, and it requires co-operation of the legislative, executive and judicial branches of the government, as well as the media and civil society.”
Mijatović said: “Free media and the protection of the fundamental right to free expression are at the very core of the development of more tolerant and more respectful societies.” She added that only expressions that constitute direct incitement to violence can be prohibited and that all other speech, however problematic or offensive, should not be subject to prosecution.
The conference marked a starting point for a debate on addressing hate speech in Kosovo, and the exchange of best practices in the Western Balkans.
The OSCE Mission in Kosovo is mandated with human rights protection and promotion, democratization and public safety sector development.