First Additional Protocol to the Convention on Cybercrime, concerning the criminalisation of acts of a racist and xenophobic nature committed through computer systems (ETS No. 189)
Official text and translations
Treaty Office: English First Additional Protocol | French First Additional Protocol
Treaty Office: Official and non-official languages
Treaty Office: Details of Treaty No. 189
Treaty Office: Explanatory report
Council of Europe resources
English Booklets | French Booklets
[include the Convention on Cybercrime, First and Second Additional Protocols and guidance notes]
The international community has made important progress in the fight against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. Yet, the desire for a world free of racial hatred and bias remains only partly fulfilled. As technological, commercial and economic developments bring the peoples of the world closer together, racial discrimination, xenophobia and other forms of intolerance continue to exist in our societies. Modern and powerful means to support racism and xenophobia enable certain people to disseminate easily and widely expressions containing such ideas. In order to investigate and prosecute such persons, international co-operation is vital. The Convention on Cybercrime (ETS 185) was drafted to enable mutual assistance concerning computer related crimes in the broadest sense in a flexible and modern way. The purpose of this Protocol is twofold: firstly, harmonising substantive criminal law in the fight against racism and xenophobia on the Internet and, secondly, improving international co-operation in this area.
This Protocol entails an extension of the Cybercrime Convention’s scope, including its substantive, procedural and international cooperation provisions, so as to cover also offences of racist or xenophobic propaganda. Thus, apart from harmonising the substantive law elements of such behaviour, the Protocol aims at improving the ability of the Parties to make use of the means and avenues of international cooperation set out in the Convention (ETS No. 185) in this area.
First Additional Protocol explained: 
Share: 
Albania
Andorra
Armenia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Iceland
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Monaco
Montenegro
Morocco
Netherlands
North Macedonia
Norway
Paraguay
Poland
Portugal
Moldova (Republic of)
Romania
San Marino
Senegal
Serbia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Ukraine
To mark the 20th anniversary since the opening for signature of the First Additional Protocol while recognizing the complex nature and importance of the topic, a series of activities are being organised to support countries in the action against online xenophobia and racism.
Registration to attend the international conferencce is now closed
(recordings of the livestreaming are available on the event webpage)
Registration to attend the second webinar is now closed
Webinars
A series of webinars on xenophobia and racism online is planned. More details will be announced shortly on this page and also on our dedicated webinars webpage.
Webinar 1: Webinar on good practices and challenges in addressing xenophobia and racism committed online / 15 December 2022, 14:00-16:15 CET [English language only]
The purpose of the first webinar was to encourage states and non-state actors to reflect on and share their experiences of addressing xenophobia and racism committed online, challenges faced, and ways of overcoming these challenges.
The following topics were discussed:
- Specialised units for dealing with the problem of online hate speech and hate crime offences
- Reporting mechanisms for unlawful content
- Extending the scope of criminalisation
- Cooperation and Harmonisation
Participation in the webinar was open to representatives from Parties to the Convention on Cybercrime and Observers to the Cybercrime Convention Committee, but also other specially invited stakeholders.
Information gathered may feed into the study on good practices currently being prepared by the Cybercrime Programme Office. Once finalised, the study will be accessible for download on www.coe.int/cyber1AP.
Webinar 2: Strengthening the capacities of criminal justice authorities on addressing xenophobia and racism committed online / 28 February 2023, 14h00–16h30 CET [English language only]
The purpose of the second webinar was to underline the relevance of the Protocol and to encourage participants to reflect on and share their experiences of (1) navigating the intersection of freedom of expression and an effective fight against acts of a racist and xenophobic nature online (2) addressing the challenges of domestic law faced when considering becoming a Party to the Protocol and implementing it (3) taking measures that are complementary to the implementation of the Protocol
Information gathered from states and non-state actors may feed into the study on good practices currently being prepared by the Octopus Project. Once finalised, the study will be accessible for download on www.coe.int/cyber1AP.
The following topics were discussed:
- Navigating the intersection of freedom of expression and hate speech
- Navigating the challenges of domestic law and reservations in addressing online xenophobia and racism
- Going beyond the First Additional Protocol
The webinar welcomed a wide range of participants with interest and experience in tackling online racism and xenophobia. This includes representatives from States Parties to the Convention on Cybercrime and Observers to the Cybercrime Convention Committee, but also other stakeholders.
The webinar was held remotely in English via the video-conferencing platform Zoom, provided by the Council of Europe.
For more information, we are one e-mail away at [email protected].
Study on good practices
The Study will include an overview of good practices and challenges regarding criminal justice action against online xenophobia and racism, as well as recommendations for further action. Once finalised, the study will be available for download on this page.
International conference
An International Conference on the occasion of the 20th Anniversary of the First Additional Protocol to the Budapest Convention was organised on 30-31 January 2023 under the Icelandic Presidency of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers. (Save the date! / News item)
Key messages, presentations prepared by speakers, resources and recordings are now available.
For more details consult the dedicated webpage for the conference.
