A dangerous wave of denialism is undermining efforts to
secure truth, justice and nonrecurrence worldwide, a UN
expert said today, warning that state politicians and other
actors are denying past violations, glorifying perpetrators,
stigmatising victims and erasing collective memory through
attacks on civil society and memorialisation
initiatives.
“There can be no regression or
reversal. The denial of genocides, crimes against humanity
and war crimes must be unequivocally rejected and
countered,” said Bernard Duhaime, the Special Rapporteur
on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and
guarantees of non-recurrence.
In his latest report to the
63rd session of the Human Rights Council, Duhaime said
denialism reflects a shift away from evidencebased
accountability, replaced with emotionally charged
narratives, identity affirmation and polarisation to serve
narrow political or ideological interests.
“Denial
of past events is often accompanied by the silencing of
dissenting voices. It limits societal understanding of past
violence, undermines victims’ rights to justice and
reparations, and weakens prospects for nonrecurrence,”
the expert said.
“Regrettably, too often, States’
responses to denialism – through memory or security laws
– have also been problematic, serving as a pretext for
censorship and and the imposition of a single,
state-sanctioned narrative,” Duhaime
warned.
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Recalling that international law requires the
active disclosure of accurate accounts of past violations,
he called on States to ensure maximum transparency,
disclosure and accountability.
“Information
concerning international crimes must never be subject to
secrecy, classification or other access restrictions that do
not comply with international human rights standards,” he
said.
“In fact, freedom of expression, cultural
rights, education, and access to knowledge are the most
effective tools to counter denialism. Rather than
restrictive legislation, States should invest in inclusive,
evidencebased education, critical thinking, digital
literacy, and robust memorialisation processes,” Duhaime
said.
He said digital technologies, social media and
artificial intelligence systems have amplified the scope,
reach and monetisation of denialist content, and called on
technology companies to redouble their efforts to ensure
regular human rights due diligence and
review.
“Technology companies must act with
heightened diligence to avoid fuelling denialism,
disinformation and hate speech. To do so, they must enhance
transparency, address business models that incentivise
denialist content, ensure remedies to ensure that their
platforms are safe for marginalised persons or groups, and
strengthen cooperation with civil society,” Duhaime
said.
Notes:
Bernard Duhaime
is the Special
Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation
and guarantees of non-recurrence
Special
Rapporteurs/Independent Experts/Working Groups are
independent human rights experts appointed by the United
Nations Human Rights Council. Together, these experts are
referred to as the Special
Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special
Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not
UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. While
the UN Human Rights office acts as the secretariat for
Special Procedures, the experts serve in their individual
capacity and are independent fromany government or
organization, including OHCHR and the UN. Any views or
opinions presented are solely those of the author and do not
necessarily represent those of the UN or
OHCHR.
Country-specific observations and
recommendations by the UN human rights mechanisms, including
the special procedures, the treaty bodies and the Universal
Periodic Review, can be found on the Universal Human Rights
Index https://uhri.ohchr.org/en/
