Chair, 

The European Union thanks the Chairperson Rapporteur for the presentation and for her tireless efforts to advance the discussion within the Committee in a meaningful manner.

The EU is fully committed to the total elimination of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, including its contemporary forms, as well as to the promotion and protection of human rights for all without discrimination on any grounds. 

The EU sees no need for an additional protocol to the ICERD given that it is a flexible, living document that also lends itself to tackle contemporary forms of racism and racial discrimination.

The EU has a long-standing tradition of engaging actively and constructively in the work of the Ad Hoc Committee, even if we fundamentally disagree with the premise that the ICERD has substantive or procedural gaps. The only existing gap relates to the lack of implementation of the ICERD. Therefore, the EU calls for the full and effective implementation of this instrument.

The EU and its Member States are taking concrete action to counter all forms of racism. Publicly inciting to violence or hatred because of race, colour, religion, descent or national or ethnic origin is forbidden in the EU. We also invest in countering hate speech online, particularly with the adoption of the Digital Services Act, which regulates the use of the networks. In December 2021, the European Commission published a Communication on extending the current list of EU crimes to hate crime and hate speech.

At the level of the Ad Hoc Committee however, progress is much more limited. There is no agreement or common understanding on core questions such as what the role of criminal law versus civil law is in fighting hate speech and hate crime; what the scope should be of the conducts that qualify for criminalization; how to define key concepts such as “xenophobia” and “harm”; whether discrimination on the basis of religion or belief should be included; and what legal safeguards are needed when criminalizing hate speech and hate crime,

For these reasons, we believe the time is not ripe for the Ad Hoc Committee to start formal negotiations on a draft protocol criminalizing acts of a racist and xenophobic nature. Further clarity will have to be provided first. The international community has a duty to tread carefully when developing new norms, in particular when the right to freedom of opinion and expression is concerned.

I thank you.