C Explanatory memorandum by Sir Tony
Lloyd, rapporteur for opinion
1. I wish to congratulate our
colleague Mr Momodou Malcolm Jallow of Sweden for his report on
behalf of the Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination on “The
role of political parties in fostering diversity and inclusion:
a new Charter for a non-racist society”.
2. In particular, the report includes a concrete contribution
which has a high potential to greatly improve political discourse
in our societies: a new, revised “Charter of European Political
Parties for a Non-Racist and Inclusive Society”. This tool can serve
as an important benchmark to ensure that all political parties strive towards
the same goal of rejecting all forms of racism and intolerance,
hate speech, incitement to racial hatred and harassment.
3. As one of the main drivers of political discourse, political
parties have an imperative to act responsibly while fighting for
their ideas and values. Likewise, party leaders are some of the
most visible and influential figures in our societies, and their
words carry significant weight in determining what is acceptable
and what constitutes a step too far. For these reasons, I wholeheartedly
support a dedicated effort by the Parliamentary Assembly to update
and promote a Charter specifically for political parties on the
theme of inclusion and anti-discrimination.
4. Freedom of expression and of political belief are central
to our democratic societies, and are anchored by the international
human rights instruments signed and ratified by Council of Europe
member States. But one’s freedom ends when the rights of another
are infringed. These freedoms should not, under any circumstance,
be abused to promote prejudice or intolerance on any grounds. This
applies to political parties as well, which in too many cases have
sought to gain electorally through division instead of inclusion.
5. Political and party leaders play a particularly important
role. They should take it upon themselves to ensure a culture of
respect, where sensitive topics relating to national or ethnic origin,
age, disability, language, religion or belief, sex, gender, gender
identity, sexual orientation and other personal characteristics
are dealt with responsibly, avoiding negative stereotypes and stigmatisation.
6. I had the opportunity to discuss this aspect with Mr Jallow,
among others, and I was happy to hear that he agreed on the need
to emphasise the role of party leaders. On this note, I wish to
thank Mr Jallow for his collaboration throughout the preparation
of this report, and in particular for taking the time to exchange
views on this very important topic and for his openness to my input.
7. One of the many laudable contributions of Mr Jallow’s report
is that the scope of the Charter, in terms of the type of discrimination
covered, has been substantially expanded. It now includes not only
discrimination and hatred based on ethnic origin but also Afrophobia,
antigypsyism, antisemitism, Islamophobia and xenophobia, bias against
LGBTI people, and sexism.
8. This broader perspective on discrimination is particularly
important given the vicious political attacks that various members
of our societies have to endure. For example, as the Commissioner
for Human Rights of the Council of Europe noted last year, politicians
and public officials in many European countries “are shamelessly targeting
lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people
for political gain, fuelling prejudice and hate.”
Note Similarly, she has also alerted
Europe to the fact that political actors are contributing to spreading disinformation,
and pandering to the fears of local populations, by propagating
falsehoods about migrants.
Note
9. In this respect, I believe it important to underscore the
specific role that nationalism and populism play in driving discriminatory
rhetoric by politicians. Scapegoating minorities, and framing discourse
as “us versus them”, in an invented zero-sum game, has become a
tactic applied by nationalist politicians across Europe to rally
their base and gain power. The Assembly has already noted, in Resolution
2275 (2019), how the upsurge in hate speech witnessed in Europe
included intolerance expressed by “aggressive nationalism” and was propelled
by populist groups.
10. While most political parties in a given national context largely
adhere to the values outlined in the Charter, what we have seen
on numerous occasions, is so called “sensible parties” choosing
to enter in alliance with parties that incorporate intolerance into
their political and electoral messaging. For this reason, I thoroughly
welcome the specific mention in the revised Charter on refraining
from “any form of political alliance or co-operation at all levels
with any political party which incites racial or ethnic prejudices
and racial hatred”. Political parties should not only take responsibility
for their own messages, but also for the alliances they forge.
11. I commend Mr Jallow for adding an explicit reference to online
communication, and in particular to social media, in the revised
version of the Charter. This is important for a number of reasons.
First, because of the obvious power these tools can have in spreading
stigmatisation, misinformation and hate speech incredibly quickly.
Second, these tools also allow for a degree of dehumanising viciousness
that face-to-face confrontations cannot match: while typing words
on a screen, online abusers can forget – consciously or not – that
other human beings are in fact reading their comments and affected
by them on the other end.
12. The online fuelling of discrimination, division, and fear
of “the other” is not only abhorrent in itself, but also risks putting
our democracies at risk. States are increasingly confronted with
mass disinformation campaigns, including fake news, which represent
a direct attack on our democratic systems, and therefore on our
common democratic security. Political parties can, and must, do
more to ensure that no such divisive discourse is promoted online.
13. As described in Mr Jallow’s report, the goal of the Charter
“is to have a tangible positive impact on the work of political
parties and on political discourse in general”. In order for us
to reach this objective, the journey of this document should not
end after a plenary vote in the hemicycle. A strong show of support
from the Assembly for a non-racist and inclusive society and for
political parties’ responsibilities in this regard, will be an important
and decisive start. But we will need to ensure that the Charter
is widely shared throughout Council of Europe member States and
is signed by as many political parties as possible.
14. The role of national parliaments in this regard will be important,
as is reflected in the draft resolution. I would add, however, that
political groups and national delegations in the Assembly should
also take responsibility to ensure the Charter is widely shared,
and thereby propose to add a reference to this effect in the draft
resolution.
15. In addition to wide circulation at the outset, establishing
a follow-up procedure to assess the extent of the Charter’s adoption
over time will also be important, in order to assess its success
and adapt the strategy as necessary. In this regard, I am pleased
to note that the draft resolution makes clear that the Assembly intends
to review periodically the state of implementation of the Charter.
16. Finally, I welcome the accountability section of the revised
Charter. In order to ensure that the principles in the Charter are
complied with, it is important for political parties to consider
disciplinary sanctions for members whose words or actions undermine
their party’s contribution to creating an open, inclusive and non-racist
society.
17. I would add that, in addition to disciplinary measures, political
parties should ensure there is an independent complaints process
to deal with complaints regarding racism and intolerance, hate speech, incitement
to racial hatred and harassment. In addition to helping to address
instances of intolerance through a trustworthy system, it would
contribute to a spirit of inclusion and openness within the party.
During my conversation with Mr Jallow, I was glad to hear that he
agreed with this, and I am pleased that this aspect is included
in the draft resolution.
