Cyber Racism

Andrew Jakubowicz

“The internet has played a key role in the spread of racism, offering opportunities that amplify the reach and potential impact of White power, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, Islamist and ultra-nationalist ideologies and actions. At the same time that racist organisations were discovering, exploring and exploiting the potential of the internet, the international community was recognising the dangers that the technology represented to community wellbeing and harmony. In 1998 the United Nations Commission on Human Rights first discussed the role of the internet in the light of the provisions of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD). Since then the issue has been a constant on the UN human rights agenda, while also being the focus of special attention by the Council of Europe (CoE) and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) …”