Language Switcher

Incitement of racial and religious hatred and promotion of tolerance : report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, June 29, 2006

Implementation of General Assembly resolution 60/251 of 15 March 2006 entitled “Human Rights Council”

D. The scope of sanctions and remedies

65.  Legal measures may be supplemented by a number of non-legal measures, including selfregulatory measures by media bodies, media outlets or journalists’ associations to prevent the dissemination of harmful speech. In many countries, media sectors, in particular newspapers and journalists, have formed self-regulatory bodies to promote professional standards and in some cases to provide the public with a complaints system for reporting which fails to meet minimum  standards. In many cases, these standards include rules relating to reporting on matters involving race.

66. The  International Federation  of  Journalists,  for  example,  has  adopted  a Declaration of Principles on the Conduct of Journalists.

Principle 7 states that:  The journalist shall be aware of the danger of discrimination being furthered by the media, and shall do the utmost to avoid facilitating such discrimination based on, among other things, race, sex, sexual orientation, language, religion, political or other opinions, and national or social origins.