The 5+5 Joint Military Commission (JMC) has warned against actions that escalate hate speech, condemning in a statement on Tuesday actions that lead to the fragmentation of the social fabric and threaten national security by inciting discord between cities and regions across the country.
The JMC called for prioritizing national interests and reasoning, urging, in particular, all officials, security agencies, and political leadership to urgently hold accountable those responsible for these incidents, as well as anyone attempting to deepen divisions and undermine Libyan unity.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) organized a discussion seminar with the participation of the 5+5 JMC, and addressed the dangers of hate speech and its impact on the stability of the ceasefire agreement.
UNSMIL said that the seminar looked into the widespread phenomenon of hate speech, disinformation, and incitement through traditional media and social media platforms in Libya. It explained that the discussions focused on the harmful impact of such speech on the stability of the ceasefire agreement and Libya’s social fabric in general. Additionally, the talks explored ways to combat these issues to curb their spread, based on Article 5 of the ceasefire agreement signed in October 2020.
UNSMIL stressed the urgent need to put an end to all forms of inciting discourse in the media and on social media and to confront deliberate attempts to deepen divisions among Libyans, which threaten national unity, calling on elders, and local authorities to intensify efforts to reduce tensions in public discourse and address the root causes of the current escalation.
