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	Combat xenophobia, discrimination and intolerance at all costs by Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights United Nations   Between Free Speech and Hate Speech: The Rabat Plan of Action, a practical tool to combat incitement to hatred.   Following several workshops on the prohibition of incitement to national, racial and religious hatred organized by the United Nations in various regions of the world, a plan of action to prevent incitement to discrimination, hostility and violence, as outlined in article 20 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, was presented by internationally recognized experts at an event held in Geneva on 21 February.   The remarkable collection of experts who have worked together on this issue over the past two years have fulfilled our hopes by reaching a consensus on how to effectively address the issue of incitement, and have devised a clear pathway to help us identify where to draw the demarcation line between freedom of expression and incitement” said the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, in her opening statement.   “In recent years, incidents involving hate speech, negative stereotyping in the media, and even advocacy of religious or national hatred by public officials and political parties have resulted in killings of innocent people, attacks on places of worship and calls for reprisals.   This spiral of violence has made it incumbent on us to renew the search for the correct balance between freedom of expression — which is among the most precious and fundamental of our rights as human beings — and the equally vital need to protect individuals and communities from discrimination and violence” she added.   The Rabat Plan of Action on the prohibition of advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence (PDF) recommends the adoption of comprehensive anti-discrimination national legislations with preventive and punitive action to effectively combat incitement to hatred, as well as the empowerment of minorities and vulnerable groups.   Evoking the complex equation between free speech and protection from incitement, Pillay acknowledged that views on this issue diverge greatly, with some calling for much tougher restrictions on permissible expression (…) while others have maintained that freedom of expression should be near-absolute, pointing out that laws limiting speech are very often misused by authorities to muzzle critics and silence dissent.   The High Representative of the Alliance of Civilizations, Jorge Sampaio, welcomed the Rabat Plan of Action, which presents a set of practical recommendations to States, the UN system, political and religious leaders, the civil society and the media, and underlined the key role to be played by education to change mindsets.   “National and local authorities can exacerbate the severity of the speech, but they have also the potential to counter hate speech through positive speech and messages of tolerance and restraint” declared the UN Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide, Adama Dieng, when evoking the role of the State, religious and local authorities, education institutions and the media.   Regarding the role of legislation, Dieng recognized that it was important but limited, and advised for a “multilayered approach for prevention”.   Among the key factors put forward in the Rabat Plan of Action to prevent incitement to hatred are the collective responsibility of public officials, religious and community leaders, the media and individuals, and the need to nurture social consciousness, tolerance, mutual respect, and intercultural dialogue.   The Plan of Action also contains a six-part threshold test for forms of speech that are prohibited under criminal law. The test takes into consideration: the context of incitement to hatred, the speaker, intent, content, extent of the speech, and likelihood of causing harm.   Furthermore, education on pluralism can also contribute to prevent incitement to hatred, intolerance, negative stereotyping, stigmatization and discrimination on the basis of nationality, ethnicity, religion or belief, according to experts.   “It is the first time when a joint action to establish a synergy among the work of several human rights mechanisms, treaty bodies and special procedures, —including on freedom of opinion and expression, freedom of religion, and racism—independent experts, and non-governmental organizations, results in the adoption of a comprehensive plan of action on a cross-cutting important aspect of human rights law: the delimitation of boundaries between free speech and hate speech”, says Ibrahim Salama, Director of the Human Rights Treaties Division at OHCHR.   The Plan of Action presented today was adopted at a meeting convened by the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) in Rabat, Morocco, in October 2012. The Rabat meeting aimed at wrapping-up discussions and recommendations made since 2011 at four regional workshops to assess at national and regional levels legislative patterns, judicial practices and policies on incitement to national, racial or religious hatred.   The consultative process that led to the adoption of the Rabat Plan of Action involved three UN Special Rapporteurs (Frank La Rue, Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression; Heiner Bielefeldt, Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Adama Dieng; Mutuma Ruteere, UN Special Rapporteur on Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance), Agnes Callamard, Executive Director of Article XIX, as well as 45 experts from different cultural backgrounds and legal traditions. Regional workshops were held in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Pacific and the Americas.   http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/TheRabatPlanofAction.aspx   Aug 2012   “The growing diversity of cultures within societies was presenting great challenges to governments, politicians, national human rights institutions and civil society actors in virtually every country and every region of the world,” according to United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Kyung-wha Kang.   Guidance must derived by the centrality of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, reaffirming that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and that everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in the declaration.”   These were her opening remarks during a panel discussion on the promotion and the protection of human rights in a multicultural context, including through combating xenophobia, discrimination and intolerance, during the latest Human Rights Council session.   “We believe xenophobia, discrimination and intolerance are addressed where human dignity is respected and human rights and freedom are promoted and protected without distinction of any kind”, she added.   Panellists discussed different aspects of the promotion and protection human rights in a multicultural context, including historical, cultural and legal elements.   Mona Zulficar, member of the Human Rights Council Advisory Committee and of the Egyptian National Human Rights Council, stated that cultural pluralism was the core component of our human identity which constituted the dynamic, creative and colourful part of our human civilization and was inseparable from full respect of human dignity and commitment to human rights and fundamental freedoms.   Laws alone cannot guarantee and protect human rights in the context of cultural diversity, but values of solidarity, tolerance and mutual respect must exist in a democratic environment to create an effective moral ground for co-existence, she added. But laws are an effective instrument of protecting human rights and combating xenophobia and discrimination in the context of cultural diversity, she said.   Mario Marazziti, journalist and member of the International Board of the Community of Sant’ Egidio, reaffirmed that cultural diversity has long been considered one of Europe’s most valuable assets. Recognising pluralism as an integral part of European identity, the European Union adopted “Unity in Diversity” as its official motto in the year 2000.   Since then, we all know, Europe has become increasingly heterogeneous, and many challenges have grown, he added.   Gurharpal Singh, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities and Professor of Inter-Religious Relations and Development at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, added that multiculturalism also offered a point of departure for a more engaged understanding of human rights, one which was much more tolerant and sensitive to differences and diversity.   Most proponents of multiculturalism, he further stated, recognised the need to combat discourses which promote discrimination such as xenophobia and religious hatred.   The panellists observed that there are ‘many different views on what constitutes a good life’; that there is plurality within cultures and every culture has many differing aspects within it and is constantly interacting with others and therefore changing. These assumptions, it was suggested, must also accept the need to co-exist with shared political values around which all communities can unite. And if minority communities are committed to the State, then the State must be committed to them in recognising their difference and promoting their welfare.   Singh concluded that for multiculturalism to be effective as a public policy, the State must not merely tolerate minority cultures but provide positive affirmation, celebration and recognition of these cultures. That is why commitment to multicultural policies by States normally requires accompanying legislation to outlaw discrimination based on peoples cultural, ethnic, religious or racial identity, he said. Visit the related web page
	Mama Hawa, lighting a path for Somalia''s recovery by UNHCR: Nansen Refugee Award Somalia   Hawa Aden Mohamed, is a former refugee who is lighting a path for Somalia''s recovery.   Widely known as Mama Hawa, she has taken extraordinary steps to empower thousands of displaced Somali women and girls, including many who have fled war, persecution or famine.   Hawa Aden Mohamed won the United Nations refugee agency''s Nansen Refugee Award for her work in helping thousands of Somali women and girls, start new lives in their battered homeland.   Mohamed, 63, a former Somali refugee returned to her war-torn country in 1995, launching an education program to shelter and train Somalis who have fled war, famine and violence, it said.   "When Hawa Aden Mohamed rescues a displaced girl, a life is turned around," U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres said in a statement.   She founded the Galkayo Education Centre for Peace and Development which has assisted more than 215,000 displaced and victims of violence since 1999, it said.   "In a society like Somalia, it''s very often that a woman or a girl is raped and they are severely marginalized thereafter. So what she has done is given them is a home, a new start, hope for a new life and their dignity back," UNHCR spokeswoman Melissa Fleming told a news briefing.   Young Somali boys also receive vocational training in carpentry and welding to keep them off the streets and avoid them falling prey to criminal or armed groups, the agency said.   Somalia has been mired in conflict for more than two decades. More than two million people have been displaced.   * Learn more about Hawa Aden Mohamed and her remarkable efforts to empower displaced women and girls and rebuild Somalia. Visit the related web page
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