Foreign Minister Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani hailed the pioneering initiatives of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa to promote tolerance, peaceful coexistence between religious and cultures and reject hate speech and incitement to hostility and racism.
He praised the policies of the Government, chaired by His s Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister in support of HM the King’s approach.
Dr. Al Zayan, also chairman of the National Anti-human trafficking committee, made the statement marking the International Day for Countering Hate Speech, which falls on June 18.
He praised HM the King’s wise approach which promoted Bahrain as a model of tolerance and respect for religious, cultural and ethnic diversity, in accordance with the Constitution and the National Action Charter.
The minister affirmed Bahrain’s commitment to its human rights obligations under international laws and agreements, and the United Nations strategy and action plan on hate speech.
The UN day is marked as the Kingdom of Bahrain celebrates its success in retaining the “Tier 1” status for the sixth consecutive year in the United States Department of State’s 2023 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report, which is the highest annual international classification in this field.
He reiterated Bahrain’s pioneering role in spreading a culture of peace and combating violence, extremism and terrorism, and supporting religious and cultural dialogue and international humanitarian action through the contributions of the King Hamad Global Center for Peaceful Coexistence and the Royal Humanitarian Foundation.
He urged the international community to heed HM the King’s call to to criminalize religious, sectarian and racist hate speech in all its forms, and to prevent the abuse of freedoms and media and digital platforms to disrespect religions or incite fanaticism, extremism and terrorism.
HM the King’s initiative also urges collective work to spread a culture of peace, understanding and acceptance of the other, to strengthen the bonds of fraternity and friendship among nations, and to integrate these core values in educational curricula and religious, cultural and sports activities, guided by the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the call of all religions to tolerance and love.
Source: Bahrain News Agency
