AFTERNOON 15 March 2021 The Human Rights Council this afternoon held an interactive dialogue with Fernand de Varennes, Special Rapporteur on minority issues, who echoed the words of the Secretary-General that the world faces a veritable tsunami of hatred and xenophobia. He said a treaty was needed to regulate hate speech in social media, and this must in particular focus on the most prevalent and harmful forms of hate – and that was hate against minorities. Presenting his thematic report on hate speech, social media and minorities, Mr. de Varennes said hate speech in social media was spreading and increasing. “And we at the United Nations and in many countries may be failing in not naming and tackling this evil”. Where disaggregated data was available on hate speech in social media or on hate crimes, approximately 70 per cent or more of those targeted tended to belong to minorities. The Holocaust did not start with the gas chambers, it started with hate speech against a minority.