United Nations Security Council Resolution 2686 – Maintenance of international peace and security

Resolution 2686 (2023)

The Security Council,

Underscoring the determination of the Member States of the United Nations to practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another as good neighbours,

Reaffirming the purpose of the United Nations to achieve international co-operation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character, and in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion,

Bearing in mind the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and the primary responsibility of the Security Council under the Charter for the maintenance of international peace and security, which includes activities across the peace continuum, from prevention, conflict resolution and peacekeeping, to peacebuilding and sustaining peace,

Recalling the Security Council’s continuing commitment to addressing the prevention of armed conflicts in all regions of the world, and its determination to enhance the effectiveness of the United Nations in preventing and ending armed conflicts, their escalation, spread when they occur and their resurgence once they end,

Underlining the need to uphold the rule of law, and to fully promote, protect and respect human rights, reaffirming the rights to freedom of opinion and expression and freedom of religion or belief under international law, and stressing the importance of the rule of law and human rights in the fight against all forms of intolerance and of discrimination, including but not limited to, discrimination based on religion or belief including against non-believers, in addressing the root causes of conflict, and in conflict prevention, resolution, reconciliation, reconstruction, and peacebuilding,

Reaffirming that States must respect and ensure the human rights of all individuals, within their territory and subject to their jurisdiction as provided for by relevant international law, including in particular the right to freedom of expression reflected in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and recognisingin this regard that efforts to address hate speech, intolerance and extremism driving the outbreak, escalation and recurrence of conflict, in a manner that complies with international law, can contribute to respect for, and the protection and promotion of, human rights,

Acknowledging the importance of tolerance, equality, coexistence, dialogue, pluralistic traditions, mutual respect and the diversity of religions and beliefs, and taking note of the International Day of Human Fraternity proclaimed by United Nations General Assembly resolution 75/200 (2020),

Expressing deep concern at instances of discrimination, intolerance and extremism, manifesting in the form of hate speech or violence based on race, sex, ethnicity or religion or belief, such as but not limited to persons belonging to religious communities, in particular cases motivated by Islamophobia, antisemitism or Christianophobia, and other forms of intolerance which may occur in the lead up to, during, and in the aftermath of armed conflict, and in that regard, recognising the efforts of the United Nations system to address hate speech at the national and global level,

Being further deeply concerned by the number of victims as a consequence of intolerance, discrimination or incitement in situations of armed conflict, including among civilians of diverse religions and beliefs, and stressing the importance of assisting such victims and survivors in situations of armed conflict,

Remaining deeply concerned about the persistent obstacles to women’s full, equal, meaningful and safe participation in the prevention and resolution of conflicts and in post-conflict public life, as a result of violence and intimidation, lack of security and lack of rule of law, cultural discrimination and stigmatization, including the rise of extremist or fanatical views on women, and socio-economic factors including the lack of access to education, and in this respect, recognizing that the marginalization of women can delay or undermine the achievement of durable peace, security and reconciliation,

Expressing deep concern at those acts that advocate racial or religious hatred in violation of international human rights law and thereby undermine the spirit of tolerance, inclusiveness and respect for diversity,

Expressing deep concern at instances of violence fuelled by hate speech, misinformation and disinformation, including through social media platforms,

Recognizing the importance of education, and the role of civil society, including community-based civil society, youth, women, peacebuilders, and where relevant the private sector, academia, think tanks, media online as well as offline, including Internet-based platforms such as social media, and cultural and religious leaders in promoting tolerance and peaceful coexistence to support peace building efforts and sustaining peace,

Underlining the potential contributions of ethnic, religious and confessional communities and religious leaders to conflict prevention, resolution, reconciliation, reconstruction, peacebuilding and addressing the root causes of conflict, stressing the positive contribution of initiatives to promote tolerance and peaceful coexistence, and welcoming efforts by religious leaders to promote interreligious dialogue and understanding,

Reaffirming that sexual violence, when used or commissioned as a method or tactic of war or as part of a widespread or systematic attack against civilian populations, can significantly exacerbate and prolong situations of armed conflict and may impede the restoration of international peace and security,

Strongly deploring all acts of violence against persons on the basis of their religion or belief and such acts directed against their places of worship, as well as all attacks on and in religious places, sites and shrines that are in violation of international law including the Charter of the United Nations,

Acknowledging the important role that cultural heritage can play in the promotion of reconciliation, peacebuilding, tolerance and peaceful coexistence,

Underscoring the importance of strategic communications to, inter alia, contribute to countering disinformation and misinformation in order to strengthen the ability of United Nations peacekeeping operations to implement their mandates and enhance the safety and security of peacekeepers,

1. Recognizes that hate speech, racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, related forms of intolerance, gender discrimination, and acts of extremism can contribute to driving the outbreak, escalation and recurrence of conflict, and undermine initiatives to address root causes of conflict and prevent and resolve conflict, as well as reconciliation, reconstruction and peacebuilding efforts;

2. Urges States and international and regional organizations to publicly condemn violence, hate speech and extremism motivated by discrimination including on the grounds of race, ethnicity, gender, religion or language, in a manner consistent with applicable international law, including the right to freedom of expression;

3. Encourages all relevant stakeholders, including religious and community leaders, media entities and social media platforms, as well as persons who may have credibility and influence within communities to speak out against hate speech, and to develop and share good practices to promote tolerance and peaceful coexistence, and to address, in a manner consistent with applicable international law, hate speech and extremism that leads to or exacerbates armed conflict and impedes durable peace and reconciliation;

4. Recognizes the importance of interreligious and intercultural dialogue and its valuable contribution to promoting social cohesion, peace and development, and calls upon Member States to have regard to, as appropriate and where applicable, interreligious and intercultural dialogue as an important tool in efforts aimed at achieving peace and social stability and the full realization of internationally agreed development goals in situations throughout the peace continuum;

5. Urges States to promote women’s full, equal, meaningful and safe participation and leadership at all levels of decision-making, in efforts to promote tolerance, sustainable and inclusive peace, and to strengthen social cohesion and community resilience, as well as women’s economic empowerment and gender equality, further recognizes the role of women’s leadership in prevention and resolution of conflict and their contribution to preventing the spread of intolerance and incitement to hatred, and recalls the Women, Peace and Security agenda pursuant to Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) and related resolutions;

6. Reaffirms States’ obligation to respect, promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms of all individuals, and ensure equal access to justice and preserve the integrity of rule of law institutions, and to foster an enabling and safe environment for all those working on peace and security, including by protecting civic and political space and condemning hate speech and incitement to violence;

7. Encourages States to engage relevant civil society, local communities, the private sector and other non-governmental actors, in developing strategies to address intolerance and extremism that infringes upon human rights and harms social cohesion, by empowering women, youth, families, and religious, cultural and education leaders, as well as community leaders, including racial and ethnic communities, persons with influence and authority within communities and all other concerned groups of civil society;

8. Urges Member States to support quality education for peace, including by designing and implementing policies whereby education systems promote sustainable development and gender equality, help to prevent sexual and gender-based violence and instill the principles of tolerance and respect for others and cultural diversity, and the freedom of religion or belief;

9. Encourages States to prevent the spread of intolerant ideology and incitement to hatred, through education to promote tolerance, human rights, and interreligious and intercultural dialogue;

10. Condemns misinformation, disinformation and incitement to violence against United Nations peacekeeping operations intended to negatively affect their safety or their ability to implement their mandates;

11. Requests United Nations peacekeeping and special political missions, within their respective mandates, to monitor hate speech, racism and acts of extremism that negatively affect peace and security, and to include reporting on these issues in their regular reporting to the Council;

12. Encourages all Special Representatives and Special Envoys of the Secretary-General, in coordination with relevant stakeholders, to use their good offices to support local peace initiatives, and where appropriate involve local communities, women, youth, civil society and religious leaders in the mediation of peace agreements and their implementation mechanisms;

13. Encourages the Peacebuilding Commission to continue fully utilising its role to convene United Nations bodies, Member States, national authorities and all other relevant stakeholders including regional and sub-regional organisations and international financial institutions to ensure an integrated, strategic, coherent, coordinated and gender-responsive approach to peacebuilding and sustaining peace and, in particular, to promote tolerance and address hate speech throughout the peace continuum in accordance with international law;

14. Encourages relevant United Nations entities to increase their activities that focus on peace education in order to enhance among young people an understanding of values such as peace, tolerance, openness, inclusion and mutual respect, which are essential in developing a culture of peace;

15. Encourages the Secretary-General to carry out and include in relevant reporting lessons learned and best practices on participation of religious groups, institutions and leaders, including women, as well as local communities, in the mediation of peace agreements and their implementation, in initiatives directed to conflict prevention, resolution, reconciliation, reconstruction, peacebuilding and in addressing the root causes of conflict;

16. Requests the Secretary-General to provide an oral briefing to the Security Council by 14 June 2024, in a public meeting under the agenda item ‘Maintenance of international peace and security’, on the implementation of this resolution in the context of situations throughout the peace continuum which are on the agenda of the Council, utilizing information from available United Nations sources, including country teams, peacekeeping operations, and other United Nations personnel, and further requests the Secretary-General to swiftly inform the Council about threats to international peace and security in this regard, and expresses its intention to give its full attention to such information provided by the Secretary-General when those situations are brought to its attention.

Adopted by the Security Council at its 9347th meeting, on 14 June 2023.