Security Council Resolution 2686 (2023) [on Publicly Condemning Violence, Hate Speech and Extremism]

Urges States and international and regional organizations to publicly condemn violence, hate speech and extremism motivated by discrimination including on the grounds of race, ethnicity, gender, religion or language, in a manner consistent with applicable international law, including the right to freedom of expression;

Encourages all relevant stakeholders, including religious and community leaders, media entities and social media platforms, as well as persons who may have credibility and influence within communities to speak out against hate speech, and to develop and share good practices to promote tolerance and peaceful coexistence, and to address, in a manner consistent with applicable international law, hate speech and extremism that leads to or exacerbates armed conflict and impedes durable peace and reconciliation;

Urges States to promote women’s full, equal, meaningful and safe participation and leadership at all levels of decision-making, in efforts to promote tolerance, sustainable and inclusive peace, and to strengthen social cohesion and community resilience, as well as women’s economic empowerment and gender equality, further recognizes the role of women’s leadership in prevention and resolution of conflict and their contribution to preventing the spread of intolerance and incitement to hatred, and recalls the Women, Peace and Security agenda pursuant to Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) and related resolutions;

Encourages States to engage relevant civil society, local communities, the private sector and other non-governmental actors, in developing strategies to address intolerance and extremism that infringes upon human rights and harms social cohesion, by empowering women, youth, families, and religious, cultural and education leaders, as well as community leaders, including racial and ethnic communities, persons with influence and authority within communities and all other concerned groups of civil society;

Urges Member States to support quality education for peace, including by designing and implementing policies whereby education systems promote sustainable development and gender equality, help to prevent sexual and gender-based violence and instill the principles of tolerance and respect for others and cultural diversity, and the freedom of religion or belief;

Encourages States to prevent the spread of intolerant ideology and incitement to hatred, through education to promote tolerance, human rights, and interreligious and intercultural dialogue;

Requests United Nations peacekeeping and special political missions, within their respective mandates, to monitor hate speech, racism and acts of extremism that negatively affect peace and security, and to include reporting on these issues in their regular reporting to the Council;

Encourages all Special Representatives and Special Envoys of the Secretary-General, in coordination with relevant stakeholders, to use their good offices to support local peace initiatives, and where appropriate involve local communities, women, youth, civil society and religious leaders in the mediation of peace agreements and their implementation mechanisms;

Encourages the Peacebuilding Commission to continue fully utilising its role to convene United Nations bodies, Member States, national authorities and all other relevant stakeholders including regional and sub-regional organisations and international financial institutions to ensure an integrated, strategic, coherent, coordinated and gender-responsive approach to peacebuilding and sustaining peace and, in particular, to promote tolerance and address hate speech throughout the peace continuum in accordance with international law;

Encourages relevant United Nations entities to increase their activities that focus on peace education in order to enhance among young people an understanding of values such as peace, tolerance, openness, inclusion and mutual respect, which are essential in developing a culture of peace;

Encourages the Secretary-General to carry out and include in relevant reporting lessons learned and best practices on participation of religious groups, institutions and leaders, including women, as well as local communities, in the mediation of peace agreements and their implementation, in initiatives directed to conflict prevention, resolution, reconciliation, reconstruction, peacebuilding and in addressing the root causes of conflict;

Requests the Secretary-General to provide an oral briefing to the Security Council by 14 June 2024, in a public meeting under the agenda item ‘Maintenance of international peace and security’, on the implementation of this resolution in the context of situations throughout the peace continuum which are on the agenda of the Council, utilizing information from available United Nations sources, including country teams, peacekeeping operations, and other United Nations personnel, and further requests the Secretary-General to swiftly inform the Council about threats to international peace and security in this regard, and expresses its intention to give its full attention to such information provided by the Secretary-General when those situations are brought to its attention.