The European Union Delegation in BiH welcomes the “Stop! Hate Speech!” campaign organized by the BiH Press Council.
The campaign, which was in fact launched in the context of the election campaign, has as its goal to address the problem of hate speech, discriminatory and incendiary rhetoric in comments by visitors to internet portals.
Andy McGuffie, spokesman for the EU Delegation in BiH and the EU’s special representative in BiH, said that hate speech in a democratic society is unacceptable, and that it is one of the problems that should be resolved across Europe, including in BiH.
“Research shows that in recent years the use of hate speech on internet portals is growing, and a decisive, joint effort in the struggle against this phenomenon is necessary,” said McGuffie.
He recalled that hate speech is usually used by people who are in the majority, and that it is intended for those who are minorities.
“People who use hate speech should ask themselves how they would feel if they were the target of such speech. In a country with a multinational population like Bosnia and Herzegovina, where understanding and cooperation are important in every process, there are ever more reasons for hate speech to be publicly repudiated,” added McGuffie, a statement from the EU Delegation reads.
