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Incitement to racial or ethnic hatred is a crime under the laws of a number of countries.
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United Kingdom
Under the Law of the United Kingdom, "incitement to racial hatred" was established as an offence by the provisions of §§ 17-29 of the Public Order Act 1986. It was first established as a criminal offence in the by the Race Relations Act 1976. The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 made publication of material that incited racial hatred an arrestable offence.
This offence refers to:
- deliberately provoking hatred of a racial group
- distributing racist material to the public
- making inflammatory public speeches
- creating racist websites on the Internet
- inciting inflammatory rumours about an individual or an ethnic group, for the purpose of spreading racial discontent.
Holocaust denial is not covered under this legislation, but laws against incitement to hatred against religions were established under the Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006.
Some critics of this legislation assert that only certain racial groups are censored while other favoured groups are not. The proponents of this legislation are criticized for apparently seeking to deny the right of free speech to others with legitimate concerns over issues such as immigration, crime, terrorism, etc. Some critics also argue that the definition of "racial hatred" is too vague, which could lead to people who told racist jokes, for example, being penalised, or even that racist discrimination may end up being protected[citation needed]. However, supporters of the law claim that it helps to protect vulnerable minorities from attack, and does not stifle legitimate debate (for example, about gun crime in Britain's black community).[citation needed] No one race, creed or culture should be subject to censure; the application of this law is so fluid is in subject to enforcement by the government proscribed authorities who do not represent the will of the general public at large.[citation needed]
Australia
In Australia, the Racial Hatred Act 1995 amends the Racial Discrimination Act 1975, inserting Part IIA - Offensive Behaviour Because of Race, Colour, National or Ethnic Origin. It does not, however, address the issue of incitement to racial hatred. The Australian state of Victoria has addressed the question, however, with its enactment of the Racial and Religious Tolerance Act 2001.
Finland
In Finland, incitement against an ethnic group (Finnish: Kiihottaminen kansanryhmää vastaan) is a crime according to the Finnish criminal law's (1995/578) chapter 11. §: 8.[1]
See also
- Hate speech
- Public Order Act 1986
- Crime and Disorder Act 1998
- Racially aggravated offence
- Anti-Semitism
- Volksverhetzung
References
External links
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