Rabat – The United Nations launched on Monday the #NoToHate campaign in Morocco to raise awareness about the negative psychological and physical effects of hate speech, urging Moroccans, particularly football fans, to stop the spread of such discourses.
The campaign launched under the slogan “Report Hate Speech” or “Balligh An Khitab ElKarahiya” in Arabic supports the international #NoToHate campaign launched in commemoration of the International Day Against Hate Speech, June 18.
Commenting on the campaign, Director of the United Nations Information Center in Rabat Fethi Debbabi said that “Sharing a photo or comment that may look innocent or humorous on social networks can often cause real harm to individuals or groups.”
Debbabi stressed that there is no room for hate speech or violence in sports. He added that “the World Cup offers an opportunity for all fans to unite and show solidarity and to raise their voices to silence hate speech.”
In July 2021, the United National General Assembly stressed global concerns about the “exponential spread and proliferation of hate speech” worldwide before adopting a resolution proclaiming July 18 as the international day against hate speech. Morocco voted in favor of the resolution alongside 192 member states.
Read Also: Understanding and Combating Bullying: A Critical Issue in Morocco
The resolution recognizes freedom of expression as a human right and promotes interreligious and intercultural dialogue and tolerance as the main instrument to counter hate speech, discrimination, and violence.
The resolution further underlines the United Nations definition of hate speech as “any type of communication, whether oral or written or behavioral, that constitutes an attack or uses derogatory or discriminatory language against a person or group on the basis of their identity, in other words, religious affiliation, ethnic origin, nationality, race, skin color, ancestry, gender or other identity factors.”
In light of the ongoing organization of the World Cup in Qatar, the UN is calling for unity and solidarity, arguing that sports should not be a platform for spreading hatred.
On Tuesday, Fifa launched a disciplinary investigation against Croatian fans for mocking the Serbian heritage of Canada’s goalkeeper Milan Borjan.
Read Also: Global Arab, African Unity During FIFA World Cup 2022
