The Ston demonstrators demanded a ceasefire in the war in Gaza.
Irene Khan, the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, noted that across the United States, the issue of freedom of expression has brought the issue of freedom of expression to the forefront of the world's attention as students at some Ivy League universities have been purged in protest against Israel's war in Gaza, and the resignation of university executives.
Protests across the globe are calling for an end to the war in Gaza. The war began last October with a Hamas-led attack on Israel, which killed 1,200 people and held 250 hostages, 133 of whom remain in captivity in Gaza.
Israeli military operations have killed more than 34,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip since the war began, according to the local health ministry. Currently, the Gaza Strip is facing a man-made famine, which UN agencies point to as being caused by Israeli restrictions on the delivery of aid.
In an interview with UN News on Wednesday, Khan said the U.S. restrictions on academic freedom violated people's right to protest against war and occupation, which took place at Ivy League universities such as Columbia, Harvard and Yale. "The crisis in Gaza is turning into a global crisis of freedom of expression," Khan said. This will have a huge impact for a long time to come. ”
"One by one, the presidents of Ivy League colleges and universities resigned, and they were dismissed," she said. On this issue, it is clear that this approach has played a further dividing role in the political climate of either him or me. ”
Confusion between political views and hate speech
Erin Khan noted that there has been a disturbing increase in hate speech on both sides of the protest, but people must be allowed to express their political views.
She said that at many of the protests, there was confusion about what was hate speech or incitement to violence, what was a different perception of the situation in Israel and the occupied territories, or criticism of Israel's handling of the conflict.
"Legitimate speech must be protected," she said. But unfortunately, in the United States there is a hysteria that is gaining the upper hand. ”
Criticism of "Perfectly Legal"
Erin Khan noted that anti-Semitism and Islamophobia must be banned, and hate speech violates international law.
"However, we must not confuse this with criticism of Israel as a political entity, as a state," she stressed. Criticism of Israel is perfectly legitimate under international law. ”
She said that the Special Rapporteurs had discovered prejudice against Palestinian supporters on social media.
"We need freedom of expression, which is a fundamental right and very important for democracy, development, conflict resolution and peacebuilding," Khan said. ”
"If we sacrifice all of this, politicize the issue, and compromise the right to protest and the right to freedom of expression, then we are doing something harmful and we will pay for it," she said. If one of the parties is silenced, the negotiation will become more difficult. ”
The special rapporteurs and the human rights experts appointed by the Human Rights Council are not United Nations staff members and are independent from any government or organization, work in their personal capacity and are not remunerated for doing so.
