Promoting Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue and Tolerance in Countering Hate Speech

A/RES/79/316View PDF

Who created this mandate?

A document of the General Assembly, under agenda item 14Culture of peace, published in 2025.

What other versions does this mandate have?

4 versions · 2019–2025

2025A/RES/79/316Promoting interreligious and intercultural dialogue and tolerance in countering hate speechLatestCompare with previous version
2023A/RES/77/318Promoting interreligious and intercultural dialogue and tolerance in countering hate speechCompare with previous version
2021A/RES/75/309Promoting interreligious and intercultural dialogue and tolerance in countering hate speechCompare with previous version
2019A/RES/73/328Promoting interreligious and intercultural dialogue and tolerance in countering hate speech

Versions are identified automatically by matching titles within the same organ (~97% accuracy on a manual audit).

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

2 entities

Extracted automatically from each entity’s budget submission.

What subjects does this mandate have?

7 topics

Conferences Definition Group Hatred Hate Speech Intercultural Communication Religious Intolerance Tolerance

What does this mandate say?

28 operative paragraphs

Recognizes the importance of interreligious and intercultural dialogue and its valuable contribution to promoting social cohesion, peace and development, and calls upon Member States to consider, as appropriate and where applicable, interreligious and intercultural dialogue as an important tool in efforts aimed at achieving peace and social stability and the full realization of internationally agreed development goals;

Recognizes that there is no universally agreed definition of hate speech, and in this regard stresses the importance of working on an intergovernmentally agreed definition of hate speech that can help in countering it, in accordance with international law;

Calls upon Member States to increase understanding about the spread and impact of hate speech, while continuing to adhere to relevant international human rights law obligations, as well as relevant United Nations instruments, in particular the Rabat Plan of Action;

Invites all Member States, organizations and agencies of the United Nations system, other international and regional organizations and civil society organizations, non‑governmental organizations, academic institutions, the private sector, individuals and other relevant stakeholders to observe the International Day for Countering Hate Speech, as appropriate, with the cost covered exclusively by voluntary contributions;

Invites all Member States to further promote the culture of peace to help to ensure peace and sustainable development, including through the celebration of the international, regional and national days in this regard and by mobilizing the efforts of the international community to promote peace, tolerance, inclusion, understanding and solidarity;

Condemns any advocacy of hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence, whether it involves the use of print, audiovisual or electronic media, social media or any other means;

Expresses its concern that incidents of racial and religious intolerance, discrimination and related violence, as well as of negative racial and religious stereotyping, continue to rise around the world, and condemns, in this context, any advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence, and urges States to take effective measures, consistent with their obligations under international human rights law, to address, counter and combat such incidents;

Emphasizes that freedom of religion or belief, freedom of opinion and expression, the right to peaceful assembly and the right to freedom of association are interdependent, interrelated and mutually reinforcing, and stresses the role that these rights can play in the fight against all forms of intolerance and of discrimination based on religion or belief;

Takes note of the United Nations Strategy and Plan of Action on Hate Speech, in which it is proposed that the United Nations system establish and strengthen partnerships with new and traditional media to promote the values of tolerance, non‑discrimination, pluralism and freedom of opinion and expression, and to address hate speech narratives;

Encourages Member States to consider, as and where appropriate, initiatives that identify areas for practical action in all sectors and levels of society for the promotion of interreligious and intercultural dialogue, tolerance, understanding and cooperation;

Urges Member States to refrain from creating or disseminating false or misleading information, as well as from conducting or sponsoring domestic or information operations that wilfully spread hate speech, in ways that are contrary to their obligations under international law, and in this regard further urges them to take appropriate and proportionate measures to mitigate risks arising from hate speech, while stressing that responses to these challenges must be undertaken in accordance with international human rights law obligations;

Calls upon digital technology companies and developers to co-develop industry accountability frameworks, in consultation with Governments and other stakeholders, in their respective roles, that increase explainability and transparency around their data, systems and processes, define responsibilities and commit to standards as well as auditable public reports, including to mitigate the risks that artificial intelligence systems may pose in generating, disseminating and amplifying hate speech;

Also calls upon digital technology companies and developers to continue to develop solutions and publicly communicate actions to counter potential harms, including hate speech, bias and discrimination, from artificial intelligence-enabled content, including such measures as ensuring data integrity, incorporation of safeguards into artificial intelligence model training processes, identification of artificial intelligence-generated material, authenticity certification for content and origins, labelling, watermarking and other techniques;

Calls upon Member States to engage with all relevant stakeholders to promote the virtues of interreligious and intercultural dialogue, respect and acceptance of differences, tolerance, respect for diversity, peaceful coexistence and cohabitation, inclusion and respect for human rights, to reject the spread of hate speech, that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility and violence;

Encourages all Member States and international organizations to generate public awareness about the dangers of intolerance and sectarian violence and to react with renewed commitment and action in support of the promotion of tolerance and human rights, and invites them to continue to pay attention to the importance of mutual cooperation, understanding and dialogue in ensuring the promotion of moderation and tolerance, and respect for human rights;

Notes with appreciation the ninth United Nations Alliance of Civilizations Global Forum, held in Fez, Kingdom of Morocco, on 22 and 23 November 2022 under the theme “Towards an alliance of peace: living together as one humanity”, that adopted the Fez Declaration, and focused, among other issues, on countering and addressing online hate speech on social media;

Also notes with appreciation the Cascais Declaration on the tenth United Nations Alliance of Civilizations Global Forum, on the theme “United in peace: restoring trust, reshaping the future – reflecting on two decades of dialogue for humanity”, held in Cascais, Portugal, from 25 to 27 November 2024;

Urges Member States and social media companies to take active measures to counter hate speech and address its increasing spread, enable research into measures to reduce it and promote users’ access to effective reporting channels, in a manner consistent with international human rights;

Recalls its request to the Secretary-General to convene, within existing resources, in 2025, a global conference on promoting interreligious and intercultural dialogue and tolerance in countering hate speech that involves United Nations entities, Member States, political figures, religious leaders, faith-based organizations, media, civil society and other relevant stakeholders;

Encourages Member States to focus on promoting interreligious and intercultural dialogue, respect for diversity, and the elimination of discrimination based on religion or belief, while underlining the importance of education, culture, peace, tolerance, mutual understanding and human rights;

Invites Member States to support, in accordance with relevant international obligations, transparent and accessible systems to identify, track, collect data and analyse trends on hate speech, both in person and in digital contexts, at all national levels, as appropriate, to support effective responses;

Also invites Member States to further promote reconciliation to help ensure durable peace and sustainable development, and to encourage religious and community leaders to engage in intra- and interfaith dialogue to respond to incitement to violence, discrimination and hate speech;

Invites Member States and other relevant stakeholders to counter hate speech and disinformation directed at migrants, refugees, and stateless and displaced persons, including in digital spaces, by promoting intercultural dialogue, inclusive education and public awareness campaigns that highlight the positive contributions of migrants to host societies and foster mutual respect and understanding, in accordance with international human rights obligations;

Calls upon Member States, who have the primary responsibility to counter discrimination and hate speech, and all relevant actors, including political and religious leaders, to promote inclusion, unity, tolerance and mutual respect and to speak out and take strong action against racism, xenophobia, hate speech, violence and discrimination;

Welcomes the proclamation of the first week of February of every year as the World Interfaith Harmony Week between all religions, faiths and beliefs;

Takes note of global efforts to support implementing the Secretary-General’s Plan of Action for Religious Leaders and Actors to Prevent Incitement to Violence that Could Lead to Atrocity Crimes, also called the Fez Plan of Action, the Secretary-General’s Strategy and Plan of Action on Hate Speech and the Secretary-General’s Plan of Action to Safeguard Religious Sites;

Invites all Member States, the United Nations system, regional and non‑governmental organizations and other relevant stakeholders to increase their understanding of the Plan of Action for Religious Leaders and Actors to Prevent Incitement to Violence that Could Lead to Atrocity Crimes, also called the Fez Plan of Action, and the Plan of Action on Hate Speech, and other initiatives promoting tolerance and mutual understanding;

Requests the Secretary-General to submit, within existing resources, a report to the General Assembly at its eighty-first session, no later than April 2027, on the challenges and opportunities of the use of artificial intelligence in addressing, countering and combating hate speech.

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