The Council of Europe and the Croatian Agency for Electronic Media are organising a conference on 6 and 7 November in Zagreb (Croatia) to discuss the different ways European states have regulated hate speech, and specifically the measures to tackle it taken by national regulatory authorities, the judiciary and media self-regulatory bodies.
Hate speech and offensive language targeting ethnic, religious, sexual minorities, immigrants and other groups have become a widespread phenomenon in Europe. Over the years the Council of Europe and its member States have developed a comprehensive range of standards and measures to curb hate speech, while guaranteeing the fundamental right to freedom of expression and information.
The conference aims to promote the implementation of human rights standards to combat hate speech through the exchange of experiences and best practices. Participants will also discuss the important role the media play in generating and disseminating hate speech and in lending their voice and power to fight against it, as well as the challenges created by technological developments to combat this kind of messages.
Organised under the Croatian Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers, the event will bring together representatives of regulatory authorities and the judiciary from Central, Eastern and South-East Europe, and experts from other European countries.
The conference will start at 9.00 am on 6 November with welcome addrhate speesses by Nina Obuljen Koržinek, Minister of Culture of Croatia, and Patrick Penninckx, Head of the Information Society Department at the Council of Europe. The Special Representative of the Secretary General on Migration and Refugees, Tomáš Boček, will address the conference on the second day.
