27 Amendments of Sira REGO related to 2023/2068(INI)
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas hate speech is the advocacy, promotion or incitement of the denigration, hatred or vilification of a person or group of persons, as well any harassment, insult, negative stereotyping, stigmatization or threat of such person or persons and any justification of all these forms of expression – that is based on a non-exhaustive list of personal characteristics or status that includes “race”, colour, language, religion or belief, nationality or national or ethnic origin, as well as descent, age, disability, sex, gender, gender identity and sexual orientation;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas hate speech and hate crime are particularly serious crimes and affect not only the individual victims and their communities, causing them suffering and limiting their fundamental rights and freedoms, but also society as a whole, undermining the foundations of the EU; whereas hate crime is a criminal act and hate speech can constitute it when it takes the form of conduct that is in itself a criminal offence; whereas discriminatory treatment can amount to degrading treatment within the meaning of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Article 4 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union where it attains a level of severity such as to constitute an affront to human dignity;
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas not all hate speech constitutes a crime but it does contribute to normalising manifestations of hatred and intolerance; whereas the targets of hate speech become increasingly excluded from society, forced out of the public debate and silenced;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas in the last few decades there has been a sharp rise in discrimination, hate crime and hate speech across the EU4 , an increase in various forms of racism, xenophobia and other forms of intolerance and an alarming spike in online and offline hate speech and incitement; whereas this is being exacerbated in many Member States by extremist and populright-wing extremist movements and the multiplier effect of the online environment and social media, which favours revictimisation; leads to dangerous divisions in society as a whole, affects the participation and inclusion of all those targeted by hate crime and hate speech, favours revictimisation and threatens democracy; _________________ 4 See, for instance, the Annual Report on ECRI’s activities covering the period from 1 January to 31 December 2019 and the Annual Report on ECRI’s activities covering the period from 1 January to 31 December 2020, and the study commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs entitled ‘Hate speech and hate crime in the EU and the evaluation of online content regulation approaches’, July 2020.
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
Fa. whereas there has been a marked increase in anti-LGBTIQ hate crime and hate speech in Europe and gender biases and other stereotypes are among the main drivers; whereas women and LGBTIQ+ people facing intersectional discrimination experience exacerbated hate speech and hate crimes; whereas anti-gender movements have the purpose of creating and perpetuating discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and sex characteristics, thereby violating fundamental rights; whereas the rhetoric propagated by anti- gender movements actively contributes to marginalisation, stigmatisation, exclusion and violence, and poses a severe threat to the principles of equality, non- discrimination, human dignity and respect for human rights enshrined in article 2 TEU;
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas the current EU framework only covers hate speech and hate crimes on the grounds of race, skin colour, religion and national or ethnic origin; whereas there is a clear need to effectively address hate speech and hate crimes based on other grounds, such as sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, decent, age and disability;
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J
Recital J
J. whereas the response of EU criminal law to hate speech and hate crime should be strong and proportionate in order to duly protect the victim and give due weight to freedom of expression; whereas the EU should guarantee that any restrictions on freedom of expression for preventing and countering hate speech should not be misused by the competent authorities in the Member States to silence minorities and to suppress criticism of official policies, political opposition or religious beliefs; whereas expressions that offend, shock or disturb may not on that account alone amount to hate speech;
Amendment 95 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J a (new)
Recital J a (new)
Ja. whereas the EU and the Member States should promote a better understanding of the need for diversity and dialogue within a framework of democracy, human rights and the rule of law, raise public awareness of the importance of respecting pluralism and combat negative stereotyping and stigmatisation;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K
Recital K
K. whereas the fundamental right that is protected in the fight against hate speech and hate crime is human dignity; whereas such protection should be universal; whereas proteaction against intolerance, be it racial, national origin, sexual orientation, religion, ideology, age, opinion or any other personal, physical or social condition or circumstthe use of hate speech should serve to protect individuals and groups of persons from violence, hatred or intolerance, whatever its form of expression, mustand not be limited to certain grounds or motivations only;
Amendment 104 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L
Recital L
L. whereas social dynamics change and can generate new motivations for hate speech and hate crime that have to be addressed by the common EU frameworkoth at EU and national levels;
Amendment 119 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital P
Recital P
P. whereas Article 83(1) TFEU requires unanimity in the Council to identify ‘other areas of crime’; whereas this requirement proved detrimental to achieving necessary common progress in an area where the common European interest should prevailcombating hate speech and hate crime across the Union;
Amendment 142 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
Amendment 151 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Urges the Member States to agree with the draft decision or at least not to oppose its adoptnot to oppose the adoption of the draft decision;
Amendment 155 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Deplores the fact that Article 83 TFEU requires unanimity in the Council,some Member States are blocking the adoption of the decision to include hate speech and hate crime as a criminal offence within the list under Article 83(1) TFEU and calls for the passerelle clause to be activated;
Amendment 163 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Emphasises that future EU legislation to cover hate speech and hate crimes must protect human dignityrestrict any form of incitement to discrimination, hostility, violence or international crimes, protect human dignity, seek to prevent harm, ensure equality, and combat hatred and intolerance irrespective of the motivation; recalls that protection must be universal, with a special focus on targeted persons, groups and communities;
Amendment 166 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Recalls that freedom of expression should not be exploited as a shield for hate speech and hate crimes, but neither should it be unjustifiably restricted; stresses that future EU legislation should guarantee that any restrictions on freedom of expression for preventing and countering hate speech are necessary and proportionate to protect the rights of others, and that they should not be misused by the competent authorities in the Member States to silence minorities and to suppress criticism of official policies, political opposition or religious beliefs;
Amendment 173 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Believes that future EU legislation to cover hate speech and hate crimes should support the monitoring of hate speech by civil society, equality bodies and national human rights institutions, and promote cooperation in undertaking this task between them and public authorities;
Amendment 174 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 b (new)
Paragraph 10 b (new)
Amendment 177 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Asks the Commission to consider an open-ended approach which includes hate speech and crimes that are already being witnessed today, but which should not be a closed list, whereby the list of grounds of discrimination will not be limited in order to effectively combat hate speech and hate crimes motivated by new and changing social dynamics;
Amendment 185 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Calls on the Commission to take additional measureuse all available instruments in countering the dissemination of illegal hate speech in online content on account of the impact of the multiplier effect of the online environment and social media on revictimisation;
Amendment 189 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Calls on the Commission to give particular consideration to minors so as to give them special protection from hate speech and hate crimes, to prevent these incidents from occurring and to minimise their impact on minors’ development and mental health; paying special attention to situations of bullying in schools, including cyber-bullying.
Amendment 193 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Recalls the need to address the underlying causes of hate speech and hate crimes against women and girls, migrants and refugees, and LGBTIQ+ people and emphasises the importance of adopting comprehensive measures, including mandatory, recurrent and effective capacity-building targeting professionals likely to come into contact with victims to prevent and minimise the risk of hate speech and hate crimes, as well as measures to ensure protection, access to justice, specialised support services and reparation to victims, all of them fully adapted to the particularities of these crimes;
Amendment 195 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Calls on the Commission to pay particular attention to political violence against women who have gradually entered political life across the EU and its institutions and Member States, as this new form of violence threatens women's participation in politics and undermines democracy itself.
Amendment 199 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 b (new)
Paragraph 13 b (new)
13b. Calls on the Commission to pay particular attention to hate speech against LGTBI people, which is on the rise across the European Union, and which is often accompanied by crimes such as attacks, persecution and even murder, without an adequate response from the authorities.
Amendment 200 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 c (new)
Paragraph 13 c (new)
13c. Calls on the Commission to pay particular attention to hate speech against asylum seekers and migrants, whether they are in a regular administrative situation or not, with special emphasis on all the attacks that unaccompanied minors have been subject to in recent years and which undoubtedly also require the cooperation of the competent institutions to guarantee their safety.
Amendment 201 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 d (new)
Paragraph 13 d (new)
Amendment 207 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to improve the regular availability and comparability of quality, disaggregated data on all forms of hate speech and hate crimes at Union and national level and to harmonise data collection systems among Member States through cooperation with Eurostat, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights and the EIGE; stresses that Member States need to collect accurate disaggregated data on hate speech and hate crimes against women and LGBTIQ+ persons, to interrelate the factors and multiple layers of deprivation, disadvantage and discrimination that make them vulnerable to hate speech and hate crime;