Meeting in Paris discusses action taken by Council of Europe member states to combat hate speech and hate crime

The persistent and worrying increase of hate speech in Europe, particularly online, profoundly impacts democracy and the enjoyment of human rights in Europe. The action taken by the Council of Europe and its member states to fight this disturbing trend, remaining challenges and ways forward to effectively and sustainably prevent and combat hate speech and hate crime, is the key theme of an event co-organised by the Council of Europe and the French authorities at the Institut du monde arabe (Arab World Institute) in Paris. A special focus will be placed on steps taken by France, which has made the fight against hatred and all forms of discrimination its priority. The meeting is an important opportunity to address current trends and ways of tackling the scourge of discrimination against various groups and minorities in an increasingly polarised world.

In his opening remarks, Deputy Secretary General, Bjørn Berge, emphasised that curbing hate speech and hate crime is a pressing priority given the scale of challenge in our polarised and digital age: "I look forward to hearing how effective the implementation of the Council of Europe's standards and other tools has proven so far, and good practice examples from member states, including our host country France, who will show us what this means in concrete terms."

The event opens the 10th meeting of the Council of Europe's Steering Committee on Anti-Discrimination, Diversity and Inclusion (CDADI). Countering hate speech will be a key theme of the meeting, including in the context of the feasibility study on desegregation and inclusion policies and practices in the field of education for Roma and Traveller children, which will be discussed with a view to being adopted by the Committee on 27 November. The study is based on desk research and a survey of 17 member States, including France.

An important way of curbing intergenerational educational segregation is through tertiary (post-secondary) education, because Roma university graduates act as role models in their families and communities. Some countries have implemented specific policies to increase the participation of Roma in higher education through systems of scholarships and accommodation support. The full text of the study will be published at the CDADI website on 27 November.

The meeting was an opportunity to address current trends and ways to tackle the scourge of discriminations against various groups and minorities in an increasingly polarised world.