MP Kyriakos Hatzigiannis, in his capacity as Chairman of the Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), participated in a teleconference yesterday on reply to Covid-19 in diverse societies: Challenges and opportunities for stability and social cohesion ”.
According to a statement from the Parliament, in his introductory speech, Mr. Hatzigiannis said that the pandemic of coronavirus affects different social groups in different ways.
He pointed out that, according to the World Health Organization, in dealing with the social consequences of the pandemic, it should be borne in mind that economic and social conditions have a significant impact on human health and the spread of the disease, but also that the pandemic exacerbates existing social and economic divisions. The long history of public health emergencies, which lead to stigma and discrimination, must also be added.
Mr Hatzigiannis condemned the dramatic increase in online traffic to hate sites and the increase in hate incidents, mostly victims of Asian descent. He warned that the association of pandemics with specific groups of people could easily lead to demonization and victimization, causing long-term discrimination within societies.
Concluding, Mr. Hatzigiannis stressed that MPs have a duty to condemn hate speech and work to combat intolerance and strengthen social cohesion, hoping, as he said, to build more inclusive and resilient societies.