Election campaigns particularly encourage populists to use hate speech and denigrate others, says the UN’s top human rights expert. He raises the alarm and criticizes the long-established parties.
The advance of populist politicians in Europe and other regions of the world is a major concern for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk. Especially during election campaigns, hate speech is often used to denigrate others, Türk said in Geneva. He named Europe, the USA and India, among others. There should be no tolerance for this in politics.
Türk demands: Be vigilant
Asked about France, where the right-wing nationalist party Rassemblement National became the strongest party in the first round of voting, Türk said: “I am always worried when I hear people talking who denigrate and dehumanize others, who make migrants, refugees, asylum seekers or minorities into scapegoats. We have to be very vigilant.” The decisive second round of voting will take place in France on Sunday.
We know from history, especially in Europe, that denigrating others is often a harbinger of even worse behavior. “We have to ring the alarm bell,” said Türk in a press conference.
Türk criticizes traditional parties
“I call on everyone who is going to vote now or soon to look at the election manifestos to see whether they respect the human rights of all people,” said Türk. One must ask why so many people are disappointed with politics and thus become easy prey for extremists and populists. He sees a failure on the part of the established political parties as well. “The traditional parties do not think about how they can do their work in such a way that they respond to the legitimate complaints of the population and the electorate.” Pressure must be put on politicians to improve.
Source: Stern
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