The UN’s special rapporteur on freedom of expression said hate speech and anti-Muslim hatred were rising in Germany while warning that the government response had at times been heavy-handed.
Germany had seen a “rise of hate speech, anti-Muslim hatred, anti-migrant and gendered hate speech,” Irene Khan told a press conference in Berlin on Friday.
Germany is at a critical juncture for freedom of expression and must prioritise the expansion of safe, inclusive spaces to discuss diverse opinions, Khan said at the end of an official visit to the country.
“Anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, and anti-migrant vitriol have surged, as some political forces rooted in racist, xenophobic and authoritarian ideologies have weaponised freedom of expression to marginalise, intimidate and abuse minorities,” said Khan, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression.
Khan said many individuals she spoke to, including pro-Palestinian solidarity activists, students and members of minority communities, told her that hateful attacks, often amplified by social media, were making them afraid to speak online or offline.
While the government was right to take these threats seriously, Khan said countermeasures had sometimes been “inconsistent with international human rights standards”.
“They have generated uncertainty as to the line between protected and prohibited speech and have encouraged stigmatisation and self-censorship,” she said.
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