Representative of national authorities, civil society organisations and Internet businesses discussed together how to implement the provisions included in Council of Europe Recommendation CM/Rec(2022)16 on Combating Hate Speech and the UN Plan of Action on Hate Speech. They met during the hybrid session organised during the 2022 UN Internet Governance Forum (IGF) held  in Ethiopia.

Following a presentation of the Recommendation on Combating Hate Speech by the Council of Europe Secretariat, Bastiaan Winkel, Vice-Chair, and Sejal Parmar, independent expert, of the former Committee of Experts on combating Hate Speech and other speakers discussed with delegates some of the specific measures outlined in the recommendation. 

Taking inspiration from the definition and approach in the Council of Europe Recommendation, the participants concluded that a definition of Hate Speech is key to building a global understanding of the problem and how to address it. Such an approach would always need to be flexible to accommodate regional and national contexts. Beyond the legal framework other measures are also crucial, such as education, counter speech and data gathering which are all part of the toolbox to understand the issue and mount effective responses to prevent and counter hate speech.