As UN, NHRC FACILITATE PROCESS
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has said that hate speech promotes discrimination, division as well as incite violence, which should be avoided in the interest of peace and unity of Nigeria.
The Executive Secretary of the Commission, Chief Tony Ojukwu (SAN) who stated this at the opening ceremony of a two-day Roundtable on the Role of Media in Countering and Reporting Hate Speech.
The event was organized by the NHRC in collaboration with the United Nations System in Nigeria, observed that the effects of hate speech are intricately related to human rights, either in its form or outcome. Adding that it is about the right to freedom of expression, opinion, speech or belief.
According to the Chief Human Rights Officer of Nigeria, for the recipients,hate speech is a violation of the rights to dignity of the human person and the freedom from discrimination based on religious belief, political, ethnic, gender, cultural or other affiliations, amongst many other human rights.
The NHRC Boss stated that the Roundtable is organized in pursuance of promotion and protection of human rights and in recognition of the Constitutional roles of the media in shaping natural values and advancing the political, social, economic and cultural objections enshrined in Chapter 2 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (As Amended).
In his remarks, the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Matthias Schmale, said"the world today faces an increasingly polluted information ecosystem. The proliferation of misinformation, fake news, disinformation and hate speech in the digital space is causing grave global harm now. It is fueling conflict, death and destruction. It also threatens democracy and human rights. It is undermining public health and climate action as well. Speaking further at the opening ceremony of the Roundtable, the UN Envoy recalled that When social media emerged a generation ago, digital platforms were embraced as exciting new ways to connect and that indeed, they have supported communities in times of crisis, elevated marginalized voices and helped to mobilize global movements for racial justice and gender equality.
He said the social media platforms have helped the United Nations to "engage people around the world in our pursuit of peace, dignity and human rights on a healthy planet".
However, he noted that today, this same technology is often a source of fear, not hope. Digital platforms are being misused to subvert science and spread disinformation and hate to billions of people. "While the traditional media can also be sources of hate speech and other means of information ecosystem pollution, the digital space provides more velocity, volume and virality of this hate messaging also because of the anonymity such platforms can provide to the senders", he stated. He cited an example in the recent elections, where media reporting, opinions and views featured prominently in the campaigns and public discussions.
He observed that there were fact based, independent reporting, "but we have also witnessed a surge of hate speech".
He noted that Freedom of expression is a human right enshrined in Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and "hate speech is a violation of this fundamental freedom".
The Human Rights Adviser to the NHRC, Mr. Hilary Ogbonna highlighted the need to develop a model guide for media on addressing and countering hate speech which he noted is being drafted in collaboration with the media to ensure easy implementation at the end of the exercise. He restated the the role of the media in holding the government accountable to the people as enshrined in Section 22 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (As Amended). In his remark during one of the discussion segments, the the National Information Officer at United Nations Information Centre (UNIC), Dr. Oluseyi Soremekun said that the Roundtable will remind journalists of the need to redouble their efforts to fact check their information and data before disseminating them to the public to avoid fake news and hate speech in the society. The event was attended by senior media executives.
