Model Training Materials: Hate Speech, Defamation and National Security • Incitement refers to statements which “create an imminent risk” of discrimination, hostility or violence.11 Criminal hate speech laws must therefore have sufficiently specific intent requirements.12 “Advocacy” implies the presence of hateful intent as an element of the crime, which protects people who are discussing hate speech with the intent to combat it or identify its origins, such as academics and activists. Similarly, a requirement of imminence or a sufficient causal nexus between the speech and the potential harm ensures against an abuse of criminal hate speech laws via overly attenuated connections between controversial speech and the alleged harms flowing from it. While Article 20(2) only references hate speech on national, racial or religious grounds, many States prohibit hate speech targeting groups based on other identifiers. This is appropriate and may be necessary to protect the rights of other groups, but should use international human rights standards on discrimination as a reference. Protecting only officially recognised ethnic groups, for example, would raise concerns, as would special protections for certain official entities (like “the military” or parliamentarians). Human Rights Committee, Rabbae v. Netherlands Geert Wilders, a Dutch politician known for his anti-immigration views, has made numerous inflammatory anti-Muslim statements. Based on these statements, he faced criminal charges, including for the crime of “incitement to hatred and discrimination on grounds of religion or race”, but was ultimately acquitted. Mr. Rabbae, a Muslim Member of Parliament, and two other Muslims who experienced harassment and discrimination, brought a complaint to the Human Rights Committee alleging that the acquittal violated their rights under Article 20(2) of the ICCPR.13 In its opinion, the Committee affirmed that Article 20(2) protects the right of everyone to be free from hatred and discrimination, but noted that States only have a legal obligation to prohibit specific forms of expression. Article 20(2) is “crafted narrowly” to protect freedom of expression and other rights, and the Committee stressed the importance of the free exchange of views on public and political matters and that freedom of expression This language is derived from Principle 12 of the Camden Principles on Freedom of Expression and Equality, developed by the organisation Article 19 after consultation. Article 19, Camden Principles, 2009, https://bit.ly/3UokrWW. It has been cited approvingly in the Rabat Plan of Action, note 9, at note 5; Report of the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression, 9 October 2019, para. 13, undocs.org/A/74/486; and Report of the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression, 7 September 2012, para. 44, undocs.org/A/67/357. 12 See also Special international mandates on freedom of expression, Joint Statement on Racism and the Media, 27 February 2001, https://www.osce.org/files/f/documents/f/1/40120.pdf. 13 Rabbae v. The Netherlands, 14 July 2016, Communication No. 2124/2011, undocs.org/CCPR/C/117/D/2124/2011. 11 The Centre for Law and Democracy is a non-profit human rights organisation working internationally to provide legal expertise on foundational rights for democracy. 5