Nils Muižnieks, the 3rd Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights. He took up his function in April 2012 issue the following statement; Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights criticizes Denmark In an interview with the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, I underscored that in my report I welcomed the guidance provided by the Director of Public Prosecutions on the implementation of criminal law provisions against hate speech and hate crime. I said that I encouraged the Danish authorities to pursue their efforts to combat hate speech, and in particular islamophobia, which continues to be widespread in public and political debate, according to numerous national and international reports and information I have received from an array of sources. The Danish authorities’ comments to my report provide precise data on the number of prosecutions, sentences and fines due to hate speech. The Danish authorities have undertaken steps to counter this phenomenon, including awareness raising activities, both for the public at large and the police. This is an important acknowledgment of the long-standing problem and a welcome approach to addressing this issue in media and political discourse in Denmark, which is not just a matter of legislation and its implementation, but also of responsible communication. In my report, in fact, I stressed that though freedom of expression is a fundamental right which must be protected, it is not an absolute right. There are limits which apply to freedom of expression, in particular with regard to hate speech. As the European Court of Human Rights put it, “tolerance and respect for the equal dignity of all human beings constitute the foundations of a democratic, pluralistic society. That being so, as a matter of principle it may be considered necessary in certain democratic societies to sanction or even prevent all forms of expression which spread, incite, promote or justify hatred based on intolerance”. This means that although freedom of expression of politicians and political parties deserves a high degree of protection, the latter cannot justify racial discrimination nor fuel racism as this goes against the fundamental principle of democracy.
Posted on: Thu, 03 Apr 2014 12:01:07 +0000
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