UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Friday the coronavirus pandemic keeps unleashing a tsunami of hate and xenophobia, scapegoating and scare-mongering.
The UN chief said anti-foreigner sentiment has surged online and within the streets, anti-Semitic conspiracy theories have spread, and COVID-19-related anti-Muslim attacks have occurred.
Guterres said migrants and refugees are vilified as a source of the virus — then denied access to medical treatment.
With older persons among the foremost vulnerable, contemptible memes have emerged suggesting they’re also the foremost expendable, he said.
And journalists, whistle-blowers, health professionals, aid workers and human rights defenders are being targeted simply for doing their jobs.
Guterres appealed for an all-out effort to finish hate speech globally. The secretary-general called on political leaders to point out solidarity with all people, on educational institutions to specialise in digital literacy at a time when extremists are seeking to feed on captive and potentially despairing audiences.
He called on the media, especially social media, to get rid of racist, misogynist and other harmful content, on civil society to strengthen their outreach to vulnerable people, and on religious figures to function models of mutual respect.
And I ask everyone, everywhere, to face up against hate, treat one another with dignity and take every opportunity to spread kindness, Guterres said.
The secretary-general stressed that COVID-19 doesn’t care who we are, where we live, what we believe or about the other distinction. His global appeal to deal with and counter COVID-19-related hate speech follows his April 23 message calling the coronarivus pandemic a person’s crisis that’s fast becoming a person’s rights crisis.
