scholarly journals Hate speech conceptualization: A preliminary examination of hate speech indicators and structure

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jana Papcunová ◽  
Marcel Martončik ◽  
Denisa Fedáková ◽  
Michal Kentoš ◽  
Miroslava Bozogáňová ◽  
...  

The way hate speech is combated and prosecuted should depend on its conceptualization. No exact, unified definition of hate speech, however, exists. With help from interdisciplinary experts, the present paper attempts to draw out a framework for its better understanding by providing a list of concrete hate speech indicators and their rationale. A preliminary exploratory examination of the structure of hate speech, performed on comments related to migrants, indicated that denial of human rights and promoting violent behavior play a central role in the network of indicators. Having a set of quantifiable indicators could benefit human right activists, educators, analysts, and regulators by providing them with a pragmatic tool for hate speech assessment.

Author(s):  
Jana Papcunová ◽  
Marcel Martončik ◽  
Denisa Fedáková ◽  
Michal Kentoš ◽  
Miroslava Bozogáňová ◽  
...  

AbstractHate speech should be tackled and prosecuted based on how it is operationalized. However, the existing theoretical definitions of hate speech are not sufficiently fleshed out or easily operable. To overcome this inadequacy, and with the help of interdisciplinary experts, we propose an empirical definition of hate speech by providing a list of 10 hate speech indicators and the rationale behind them (the indicators refer to specific, observable, and measurable characteristics that offer a practical definition of hate speech). A preliminary exploratory examination of the structure of hate speech, with the focus on comments related to migrants (one of the most reported grounds of hate speech), revealed that two indicators in particular, denial of human rights and promoting violent behavior, occupy a central role in the network of indicators. Furthermore, we discuss the practical implications of the proposed hate speech indicators—especially (semi-)automatic detection using the latest natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning (ML) methods. Having a set of quantifiable indicators could benefit researchers, human right activists, educators, analysts, and regulators by providing them with a pragmatic approach to hate speech assessment and detection.


Author(s):  
Madeline Baer

Chapter 4 provides an in-depth case study of water policy in Chile from the 1970s to present, including an evaluation of the outcomes of water policy under the privatized system from a human rights perspective. The chapter interrogates Chile’s reputation as a privatization success story, finding that although Chile meets the narrow definition of the human right to water and sanitation in terms of access, quality, and price, it fails to meet the broader definition that includes citizen participation in water management and policy decisions. The chapter argues that Chile’s relative success in delivering water services is attributable to strong state capacity to govern the water sector in the public interest by embedding neoliberal reforms in state interventions. The Chile case shows that privatization is not necessarily antithetical to human rights-consistent outcomes if there is a strong state role in the private sector.


Author(s):  
Caroline Davidson

Abstract This article explores a pair of powerful but competing symbols in the Chilean human transitional justice process: ‘pobres viejitos’ (poor little old men) and country club prisons. The symbol of the ‘pobres viejitos’ is used very effectively by conservative elements of Chilean society to argue the futility or even inhumanity of punishing perpetrators of human right violations so long after the commission of their crimes. In turn, to victims and more liberal segments of society, the country club or ‘five star’ prison for human rights violators stands as a symbol of impunity and the failure of the Chilean state to do justice for the crimes of the dictatorship. This article examines the power of these symbols in undermining support for transitional justice efforts, as well as the externalities of the debate. The fate of the ‘pobres viejitos’ and whether to release the from even their relatively comfortable places of confinement has bled into debates on penal reform for other elderly prisoners. This mostly negative externality suggests the need for international and regional courts (or countries not in the throes of transitional justice processes, particularly delayed ones) to lead the way on the articulation of human rights norms related to the trial and punishment of elderly prisoners.


Author(s):  
Sandra Fredman

Is health a human right? Many would maintain that it is not. On this view health and ill-health are due to natural causes, not to State actions. Others are concerned that health raises too many polycentric problems to be dealt with through justiciable human rights. These contestations have shaped the way in which the right to health is understood. Section II sketches out the health context. Section III considers jurisdictions in which there is no express right to health, but a right has been derived from rights to life, personal integrity, or privacy. Section IV contrasts this approach with jurisdictions with an express right to health. Section V examines the role of the right to equality, while section VI focuses on reproductive health. The final section returns to the challenges of polycentricity and the extent to which a justiciable right can address systemic issues rather than individual rights to medication.


2019 ◽  
Vol IV (III) ◽  
pp. 20-27
Author(s):  
Tasaddaq Hussain ◽  
Muhammad Aslam Pervez ◽  
Shahid Minhas

(FOE) is a basic human right, unanimously accepted all over the world; however it has no universal definition. The Islam condemns the Blasphemy strongly, whereas the West takes it as an offshoot of FOE and a symbol of democracy. This paper is an attempt to investigate, to what extent the Islamic concept of FOE is consistent with the Western concept? Its main objective is to point out the real cause of the rift and to discover recipe which could be used in curing the bleeding sore of humanity. Methodologically, qualitative research technique is used; analytical approach is adopted. Principal books, Scholarly articles, and academic writings are especially consulted. It is concluded that all the basic human rights have limits; therefore FOE must also be aligned. In this way, a common socio-religious definition of FOE is suggested for a peaceful and tolerant democratic global society.


2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 268-285
Author(s):  
Barbara J. Lowe

The “right to belong” is a human right in two ways. First, there is the right to belong in a limited sense, i.e., to the extent necessary for individuals to secure all other human rights, such as those recognized by the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Second, there is a deeper aspect of the right to belong, that which is necessary to flourish as a human being. To establish, first, that the right to belong in a limited sense should be a human right, I draw upon Hannah Arendt’s claim that stateless persons are without rights, as only communities can grant them. I argue that this limited level of belonging is a necessary but insufficient condition for human flourishing. Full human flourishing requires belonging on a deeper level. To articulate the nature of this deeper level of belonging I draw on Simone Weil’s definition of the “need for roots” and John Dewey and Jane Addams’ constructions of the self as social. I then show how “belonging” in a deeper sense necessarily connects with how a person is perceived and received by individuals and institutions in a community and argue that full perception by and participation in a community is necessary for humans to flourish. Thus, the right to belong imposes an ethical obligation on other members of the community to perceive undocumented immigrants as full human persons with the potential to lead flourishing lives.


2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 661-670 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin Brown ◽  
Priscila Neves-Silva ◽  
Léo Heller

Abstract The recognition of the human right to water and sanitation (HRtWS) by the United Nations General Assembly and Human Rights Council in 2010 constituted a significant political measure whose direct consequences are still being assessed. Previous to this date, the HRtWS and its link to a healthy life and adequate standard of living had been recognised in diverse legal and judicial spheres worldwide, in some cases under the pressure of the initiatives of strong social movements. However, while the HRtWS is recognised by the UN State Members, it constitutes a concept in construction that has not been approached and interpreted in consensual ways by all concerned stakeholders. The present article presents a formal definition of this right with a base in human rights regulation. It attempts to dialogue with the different existing perspectives regarding the impact of its international recognition as a human right. It then elucidates the progressive development of the HRtWS in law and jurisprudence. Finally, it considers the urgency and challenge of monitoring the HRtWS and discusses important implications for public policies.


2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 211-236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Parriciatu ◽  
Francesco Sindico

This article critically assesses the nature and the content of a possible human right to water for Indigenous People in the Latin American context. On the one hand, after introducing the deliberately unclear definition of Indigenous People, the article considers that a human right to water is embedded in Indigenous Peoples’ customary laws, which, according to legal pluralism, are to be considered as a legitimate source of law. The article then moves to the content of a possible human right to water for Indigenous People in the Latin American context. The importance of the jurisprudence of the Inter American Court of Human Rights is highlighted, and the obligation for States to consult with Indigenous People when dealing with their water resources is hailed as one of the key elements of a human right to water.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 195-226
Author(s):  
Aron Degol ◽  
Bebizuh Mulugeta

Freedom of expression is one of the human rights enshrined under International human right instruments. However, hate speech in the course of exercising this right has the potential to pose threats on the peace and security of nations and wellbeing of individuals. This has brought about arguments in favor of limitations to expression and against the limitations owing to unintended adverse impact of such limitations in the exercise of freedom of expression. In the Ethiopian case, ‘Hate Speech and Disinformation Prevention and Suppression Proclamation No. 1185/ 2020’ has been enacted.  The Proclamation indicates prohibited acts of hate speech and its exceptions. In particular, the generic terms contained in the definition given to ‘hate speech’ need to be carefully examined. However, the implications of provisions that set exceptions to ‘hate speech’ in the new law have not yet been subject to adequate academic discourse. This article examines these issues. By consulting different international human rights instruments, experience of other countries and scholarly literature, the article examines the appropriateness, constitutionality and implications of the Proclamation on the right to freedom of expression. Moreover, it indicates potential challenges that the exceptions will pose on the process of implementing the Proclamation in real court cases.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-47
Author(s):  
Mindaugas Bilius ◽  
Žaneta Navickienė ◽  
Vilius Velička

Abstract In this article, the authors analyse the practice of the Lithuanian national courts and the European Court of Human Rights in hate crime cases, provide insights into the synergy between the decisions made by these courts, and suggest further improvement actions. This research shows that proving the circumstances surrounding various forms of hatred is quite complex, often lacking a more comprehensive, in-depth definition of the totality of circumstances by taking account of the need for special knowledge, the identification of guilt, and the system and intensity of actions. There is often a divide between criminal liability and the possibility of other countermeasures, especially when examining cases related to hate speech. Court decisions draw attention to the fact that it is necessary to consider the totality of the data collected, not individual data or individual fragments of circumstances. Among other things, the decisions emphasize the ultima ratio principle: whether criminal liability is an adequate measure in cases of hate speech. The topical issues examined in the article draw attention to the collection of significant data and the organization of investigations of these crimes, issues relating to proof and the emerging practice of the European Court of Human Rights and the Supreme Court of the Republic of Lithuania in this category of cases, highlighting the two main problematic aspects: first, the determination of the totality of objective and subjective features and second, the fact of identifying a real threat.


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