Luanda - The Secretary of State for Social Communication, Nuno Caldas, recommended, on Thursday, in Bangui, Central African Republic, the increase in monitoring and surveillance measures in the digital space, to combat hate speech and violence in Africa.
Speaking at the Regional Forum of Ministers of Communication and Information of the Economic Community of Central African States (CEEAC), Nuno Caldas called for strengthening the cultural, moral, civic and patriotic education of citizens, as well as strengthening media and digital literacy.
The Secretary of State also referred to the establishment of regulation of the online press and digital applications, the analysis of criminal laws, as well as the strengthening of the monitoring and monitoring committee in the region.
He also highlighted the monitoring and psychological assistance to offended individuals, as well as the punishment and criminalization of those identified as aggressors and dangerous within the scope of the penal code.
According to the government official, there is a need to prepare and execute actions at a legislative and pedagogical level that can improve and ensure, above all, the fight against hatred and violence on the continent, especially in the sub-Saharan African region, where practices end up taking many lives.
'The need to hold responsible, with specific laws, hate speech and insults on social networks, should not be understood by public opinion as being to censor freedom of expression', he said.
According to Nuno Caldas, social networks came to democratize information, but they have also become a widely used tool for spreading misinformation, attacking the honor and good name of citizens.
He called for the mobilization of young human rights activists to work online, in order to show support and solidarity with people and groups targeted by hate speech, as he considers that the internet is not a lawless land, but one that should facilitate communication.
He also pointed out as a mechanism for minimizing these acts, the development of youth participation in digital citizenship.
'Dealing with hate speech does not mean limiting or prohibiting freedom of expression, but preventing the act from violating the fundamental rights of the human person', he said.
The Secretary of State for Social Communication highlighted that Angola has been guided by a democratic State based on the rule of law, exercising the right through difference of opinions, where laws enshrine fundamental freedoms for citizens, based on a society of peaceful dialogue, after a bitter experience of armed struggle.
He reminded those present that the national reconciliation process, opened after the end of the armed conflict, in 2022, makes the country a unique example for the continent.
In this context, he added, the country promoted specific steps to end hate speech, bringing together, in the first instance, social communication professionals who were at odds, called “Voices of Reconciliation”.
The Secretary of State expressed Angola's availability to sign agreements for the education and training of social communication staff in the country's training centers.
The Economic Community of Central African States (EEACS) is an organization created in Libreville, Gabon, in December 1981. It became operational in 1985 and its objectives are to promote cooperation and self-sustainable development, with particular emphasis on stability economy and improving quality of life.
The eleven member countries are Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, São Tomé and Príncipe and the Democratic Republic of Congo. ANM/OHA/DOJ
