UN Says Dangerous Speech Becomes A Catalytic Role In Mass Genocide

UN Special Advisors held a panel today to discuss the role inflammatory speech plays in promoting mass violence and genocide. The officials highlighted Rwanda as a case example, and the hate speech on local radio stations which eventually led to the mass murders of over 800,000 Tutsi people by Hutu rebels. 

“Research has indicated that genocidal tendencies take time, and develop over a lengthy period of time. It demonstrates… that inflammatory speech can be used as an early warning indicator,” said Special Advisor Mr. Francis Deng.

The United Nations system-wide, is looking to find new ways to limit speech and its dangers without undermining the fundamental right to freedom of expression. The Office of the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide has undertaken an 18 month project (started in Feb 2010), focused on: providing the United Nations and Members States with tools and policy guidelines to limit the catastrophic effects of dangerous speech, designing a blueprint for monitoring dangerous speech in countries at risk of genocide and mass atrocities, and testing a methodology for gauging the dangerousness of specific speech acts.