ABSTRACT

This chapter discusses the ways disability may be recognized in hate speech legislation. There are many international treaties and agreements which are designed to protect and promote human rights, and which could be used to address hate speech. The chapter highlights how arrangements might be used to deal with disability hate speech, using United Nations treaties and the European Union as examples. It describes the legislative approaches adopted at a national level by seven countries: Poland, United Kingdom, United States, China, India, South Africa, and Canada, in terms of the regulation of hate speech. At the most basic level, it could be argued that hate speech is inconsistent with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, since hate speech denies the inherent dignity and humanity of its victims. There are nine United Nations treaties which could be seen as limiting at least some forms of the human rights abuses involved in hate speech.