The UN human rights chief on Wednesday expressed concern at a hardening of election-related rhetoric in Europe and elsewhere, including the use of hate speech and dehumanising language against migrants and other minorities.
“This is an alarm bell,” Volker Turk told reporters in Geneva.
He warned of a rise in populism, hate speech and scapegoating, as a record number of countries hold elections this year.
While declining to comment on specific election campaigns in the wake of crucial elections in Britain and France, he said Europe had seen “an increase in hate speech and discriminatory discourse.”
Turk said he was “worried” by the rhetoric surrounding recent elections, including last month’s European Parliament elections, which saw right-wing parties make significant gains.
“I am always concerned when I hear stories that demean others, dehumanise others, scapegoat migrants, refugees, asylum seekers or minority groups,” he said.
“We need to be very cautious, because history tells us, especially in Europe, that insulting the other, humiliating the other, is a sign of bad things to come.”
Turk stressed that those in power must make it clear that there should be “zero tolerance towards all forms of hate speech”.
Turk said Europe isn’t the only place he’s concerned about, but also pointed to ongoing scenarios around the world, including campaigns in the United States and India.
He urged voters to study the programs of political parties to ensure they respect human rights, “and that means respecting the human rights of everyone”.
Criticising populists willing to resort to slander and scapegoating to gain political advantage, Turk said mainstream parties were also responsible.
“Traditional political parties never introspect on how they can actually do their jobs, so as to address the legitimate grievances of the people and constituencies,” he said.
“We need to put an end to hate speech, dehumanisation, scapegoating and distraction-based politics,” he said.
“But we also have to push politics to do its job better.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
