Ambassador Massari’s hearing in the Senate – Italy will strengthen its commitment against all forms of discrimination and in favor of promoting inclusion thanks to his role as co-facilitator at the UN High-Level Political Forum for Sustainable Development in July.
New York, 17 February 2022. Italy’s commitment at the UN to combating “hate speech” and to promoting inclusion and non-discrimination was at the core of a hearing of the Permanent Representative of Italy to the UN, Ambassador Massari, with the Extraordinary Committee of the Senate of the Republic competent on the fight against = intolerance, racism, anti-Semitism and incitement to hatred and violence.
Among the most recent developments, Ambassador Massari recalled how Italy was among the very first co-sponsors of the resolution on Holocaust denial adopted on 20 January by the UN General Assembly, the first text to introduce a definition of Holocaust denial and distortion at the United Nations.
According to Ambassador Massari, these are “dynamics that are as insidious and pervasive as they are amplified by the widespread circulation on social media and other forms of digital communication, which have now become a sounding board for a certain tendency to stigmatize and dehumanize diversity”. Moreover, as noted by the Committee, the pandemic has exacerbated inequalities and discrimination, further fueling hate speech.
Human rights in the digital world have an important place in Guterres’ recent report “Our Common Agenda”, which proposes a “Global Digital Compact” conceived as a shared vision between member states, the private sector and civil society based on digital cooperation. It will also be a key theme in view of the “Summit of the Future” that Guterres would like to organize in September 2023, and will also represent an important ground for the European Union’s action at the UN, considering that discussions in Brussels on these issues have already made progress.
In this context, Ambassador Massari remarked, “Italy is on the front line in New York in the fight against hate speech, racism and racial discrimination, xenophobia, intolerance and any other form of discrimination, including that based on sexual orientation and gender”. In addition to maintaining a high profile in debates on human rights issues, and actively participating in the negotiations of resolutions, we are a point of reference for the United Nations in the development of Action Plans and we support, also through an annual financial contribution, the activities of the UN Office for the Prevention of Genocide. Furthermore, as of January and for the next three years, Italy has rejoined the 54 members of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), a body that plays a central coordination role in the sector of sustainable development and for the discussion of social, economic and human rights issues (especially in relation to women’s rights, covered in its Commission on the Condition of Women – CSW).
This commitment will be intensified at the next High-Level Political Forum for Sustainable Development (HLPF 2022 scheduled for July), which will have a particular focus on the implementation of SDG 4 (education) and 5 (women’s rights). In its context, Italy with Ambassador Massari will be the co-facilitator of the negotiation for the related Ministerial Declaration, which is one of the most complex negotiating documents in the UN calendar regarding the state of implementation of the 2030 Agenda. Italy will promote an ambitious language on the issues of the elimination of all forms of discrimination, racism, intolerance and hate speech, and on the promotion of inclusion and respect for diversity.
