Strasbourg, 18.06.2025 – “Hate speech is not an isolated issue, but a part of a deeper challenge – to trust, to truth, to democracy itself,” stated Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset at the opening of the No Hate Speech Week in Strasbourg today. “We at the Council of Europe are working towards a New Democratic Pact for Europe, and hate speech has to be part of that conversation”. See the full speech here.
“Hate begins with words but does not end there. The Council of Europe has been clear: hate speech and hate crime are not separate problems — they exist on a continuum,” he said. Secretary General recalled two key Council of Europe Recommendations to address both issues: one, adopted in 2022, on combating hate speech via criminalising its most serious forms and addressing its less severe manifestations through administrative and civil law, and a second one, adopted in 2024, focusing on hate crime.
“One of the most urgent threats we now face is the mass production of hate – amplified in the digital age”, he argued. “Hate is not just spreading — it is being monetised, weaponised, and optimised. That is why we need stronger platform accountability: transparency on how content is ranked, labelling of AI-generated speech, real consequences when harmful content is boosted.” Any regulation must be clear, proportionate, and grounded in the European Convention on Human Rights, Secretary General stressed.
“On this International Day for Countering Hate Speech, let us commit — together — to unlearning hate, protecting truth, and strengthening democracy,” Alain Berset concluded.
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The No Hate Speech Week was initiated in 2024 as an annual event to mark the International Day to Counter Hate Speech celebrated on 18 June. The theme of this year’s Week is “Enhance legal and non-legal measures against hate speech through a multi-stakeholder approach”. It is organised by the Anti-discrimination Department of the Council of Europe under a EU-CoE joint project and supported by the Maltese Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. Michael McGrath, EU Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection, and Francesca Camilleri Vettiger, Permanent Representative of Malta to the Council of Europe, also spoke at the opening.
Over the week, more than 100 representatives of national authorities, public figures, civil society organisations active at European and national levels, equality bodies and Ombudsoffices, academia, internet industry, international organisations, and EU bodies exchange about recent legal and policy developments and good practices and innovations.
Under the umbrella of the No Hate Speech Week several events are taking place:
- A “study visit” on 18 June organised by the Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression and Sex Characteristics (SOGIESC) Unit for a group of 30 stakeholders (local public authorities, journalists, police officers, faith-based organisations and civil society organisations) who will follow workshops on policing hate crime, ethical reporting for media and journalists and countering anti-rights movements.
- Workshops on countering disinformation at the local level through an intercultural approach, organised by the Intercultural Cities Programme.
- Award ceremony on 18 June in the afternoon for the winners of the 2025 Journalism Excellence Awards, print media, TV and photo journalists coming from Greece, Czechia, Hungary, Slovakia and Ukraine. The award celebrates quality journalism and objective reporting on Roma-related issues, free from bias and stereotypes.
- Thematic Plenary on Hate Speech and Media, organised with the Steering Committee on Media and Information Society (CDMSI), and in the framework of the Journalists Matter Campaign, to exchange on how to prevent and counter attacks on journalists and silencing critical voices.
- Joint plenary and workshops with the Conference on Preventing and Combating Hate Crime, organised by the Steering Committee on Anti-discrimination, Diversity and Inclusion (CDADI) on 19-20 June.
- Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Cybercrime and Gender Equality Divisions participate in the posters and networking fair.
- Over 18 workshops run by representatives of civil society organisations on diverse topics, such as countering hate speech in media and online, sexist hate speech and hate speech targeting Roma and Travellers, victim support, disinformation, as well as education tools to prevent and combat hate.
- On 20 June, the No Hate Speech Week participants will attend the opening of the Hackathon and democratic debates on the topic “Outsmart disinformation, protect free speech”.
Council of Europe
