ERC on warpath against hate crimes

Jun 19, 2024 News

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– recorded over 134 cases during past year

Kaieteur News – The Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC) has recorded over 134 instances of hate speeches in Guyana during the past year. This was revealed on Tuesday at the launch of the Commission’s ‘Countering Hate Speech’ Campaign which is being done in partnership with the United Nations (UN) Guyana.

Deputy Chairman of the ERC, Charles Ogle told attendees that the Commission manually monitored and recorded the 134 instances of hate speeches with 103 violations based on race, 7 on religion and 24 xenophobic violations.

“The Commission has taken significant steps to address these violations through cautionary warnings, mediation, reconciliation, and, for severe cases, referral to the Guyana Police Force,” he said.

According to the Deputy Chairman, global trends indicate that xenophobia, racism, intolerance, discrimination, and anti-religious hatred are driving hate speeches. He stated that in Guyana, “hate speech primarily targets individuals based on ethnicity, race, and political association, and to a lesser extent, disability and the LGBTQ community.”

The ERC, which is tasked with promoting harmony and good relations, he noted, finds it crucial to counter hate speech in the society. Moreover, this campaign he said is also geared towards the 2025 General Elections period, to counteract the anticipated spike in hate speech that is usually prevalent during elections season.

The Commissioner said that the ERC has prioritized public education and awareness as a proactive measure to discourage hate speech and foster respect, tolerance, and kindness. The ‘Countering Hate Speech’ Campaign he shared aims to expand these efforts by partnering with UN Guyana to execute this important initiative.

Notably, the campaign aligns closely with the ERC’s functions as outlined in Article 212D of the Constitution and other laws which include Article 160 A (1) of the Cybercrime Act, The 2002 amended Racial Hostility Act 1964, Cap 23:01, The Broadcast Act 2011, and The Representation of the Peoples (Amendment) Act No. 1 of 2001.

Ogle said the campaign will be rolled out in four areas which include a widespread social media campaign aimed at creating content designed to counter Hate Speech and sensitise the public on harm associated with it while sharing positive messages.

Workshops will be hosted to engage youth, social media influencers, and Disc Jokeys (DJs) to educate all stakeholders about the forms of hate speech and how they can address same using their networks.

The ERC said too that it is in the process of procuring enhanced monitoring mechanisms through two suitable software that will track key words and terms that will assist the Media Monitoring Unit to widen its monitoring capabilities. Further, the UN Guyana team is supporting this through efforts with international partners.

Additionally, Ogle disclosed that the ERC will widen its public engagement and awareness sessions. “The messages of this campaign will be taken to high traffic areas, such as marketplaces, schools, malls, seawalls, workplaces to ensure maximum reach of the public,” he pointed out.

Meanwhile, ERC’s Chief Executive Officer, Ms. Gomin Camacho said the launch of the campaign coincided with the UN’s International Day of Countering Hate Speech which is observed globally on June 18 annually.

The CEO said that globally hate speech takes many forms whether it be commenting negatively on someone’s appearance, based on distasteful comments, based on a person’s race, religion, nationality, disability, political association, or sexual orientation. She noted that these and many other categories are often the basis of hate speech.

“In Guyana, we can all recognize that our nation is generally a peaceful society, fortunate not to be prone by war or unrest. We must also acknowledge that there is still work to be done to ensure that we maintain this peaceful status quo. As such this countering hate speech campaign aims to educate and inform individuals to be more aware that certain words and statements carry negative connotations which hurt, disrespect and in some cases lead to violence. We aim to counter negative sentiments with positive words that are respectful and considerate to others,” the CEO added.

Additionally, UN Resident Coordinator in Guyana, Yeºim Oruç pledged the UN’s support towards the initiative and towards the ERC. She noted that hate speech has been a persistent presence in society and is certainly not new. She highlighted that with the increasing access to internet, and increase in social media it has provided an additional challenge.

“That is why in 2019 the UN Secretary General launched a UN Strategy and Plan of Action on Hate Speech and it highlights the UN continued and ongoing commitment to promote campaign hate speech initiatives around the world,” she explained.

Meanwhile, delivering brief remarks, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira who lauded the campaign, encouraged the ERC to pay close attention to parliamentary sittings to determine the acceptability of speeches.

“You should also look at the speeches and how it is expressed and I think that is a new area to add to the ERC in terms of the parliament and parliamentarians about what is acceptable and what is not acceptable, whether we are going in the direction of hate speech or we are actually expressing hate speech to each other,” she said.

Minister Teixeira reminded that all are equal in Guyana while noting that persons must be encouraged to have respect for each other.

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• crimes, ERC, Guyana, Guyana Police Force, UN

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