The Working Group on Prevention of Hate Speech and Incitement focuses on the increase in hate speech across the region, used by various actors and facilitated by social media. It is convened by Human Rights Working Group - Indonesia and the Habibie Centre.

At the Working Group’s March 2019 meeting, twenty local and international participants from government, media, civil society groups and academia, identified domestic and regional situations of concern related to incitement, looked at case studies, and explored preventative strategies. The ability to promote extremist ideas or radical claims through fake news was identified as a serious challenge, especially for nations undergoing democratic transitions or post-conflict peace processes. Participants also pointed to the important role of political leaders and government officials in preventing hate speech, as well as promoting interfaith dialogue, education and training, and developing effective laws against incitement.

The Working Group on Prevention of Hate Speech and Incitement supported two grassroots initiatives in 2019, one based in Indonesia and the other in Burma, and the group continues to approach the prevention of hate speech via policy analysis, academic research, and local and regional initiatives.  

In January 2023, APR2P published Hate Speech Legislation in the Asia Pacific: A Compendium (PDF, 1.5MB), providing a snapshot of current issues and efforts by Asia Pacific countries to combat hate speech.

In July 2021, APR2P and UQ researchers, in conjunction with the University of Sydney and Facebook, published Facebook: Regulating Hate Speech in the Asia Pacific (PDF, 3.1MB), a report detailing discrimination against minority groups across several case studies across the Asia Pacific. 

March 2019 meeting report.

GAAMAC Report

The international network Global Action Against Mass Atrocity Crimes (GAAMAC), recently published a report detailing lessons on promoting tolerance and respect in the Asia Pacific in the face of rising hate speech and incitement. An international network of states, civil society and academics dedicated to the prevention of mass atrocity crimes, GAAMAC took contributions from APPAP members and staff of APR2P:

The report, entitled 'Preventing Hate Speech, Incitement and Discrimination: Lessons on Promoting Tolerance and Respect for Diversity in the Asia Pacific', can be downloaded from GAAMAC's website here.

CSIS Policy Brief

In February 2022, APR2P and APPAP funded APPAP partner the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) to examine hate speech in Indonesia, based upon research from CSIS' National Hate Speech Dashboard. The policy brief focused on hate speech spread on Twitter against Chinese Indonesians from 2019 to 2020, when there was an increase in anti-Chinese rhetoric. The policy brief can be downloaded from their website here.

Translated Documents

Southeast Asia Parliamentarians for Freedom of Religion and Belief (SEAPFoRB), along with APR2P, APPAP and ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) have produced translations of key documents regarding key international standards. These standards relate to religious freedom and plans of action on how to deal with hate speech and incitement of atrocity crimes. They have been translated into Bahasa Indonesia, Burmese and Thai. 

Bahasa Indonesia
Burmese
Thai