regions”, commends the work of the Committee of Experts on intercultural integration of migrants which assists the Steering Committee on Anti-Discrimination, Diversity and Inclusion (CDADI), and calls for reinforced co-operation between the Assembly, the CDADI and the Congress on such matters.

8. In line with the commitments taken by the Committee of Ministers in Recommendation CM/Rec(2022)16, the Assembly commits to playing a full role in promoting the Council of Europe’s instruments and standards and:

8.1. strongly encourages the Council for Democratic Elections and the Venice Commission to develop a code of conduct for electoral candidates and/or for the media to combat narratives which run counter to the European Court of Human Rights case law on freedom of expression and the prohibition of hate speech. Such initiative would provide a response to the recurring problems during electoral processes underlined in the Report on electoral law and electoral administration in Europe (CDL-AD(2020)023), in particular the issue of negative campaign and hate speech, and debated during electoral campaigns during the 17th European Conference on Electoral Management Bodies;

8.2. asks the No Hate Parliamentary Alliance to consider examining the question of the treatment of migration and asylum during election campaigns, within its activities;

8.3. invites the Assembly’s election observation missions to monitor and report on, especially during their pre-electoral missions, the use of hate speech, including subtle hate speech, in the framework of the online and offline electoral campaign debate in the observed country;

8.4. undertakes to promote, throughout its different activities and among the European political formations concerned, ECRI’s General Policy Recommendations, in particular General Policy Recommendation N°15 on Combating Hate Speech and General Policy Recommendation N°16 on safeguarding irregularly present migrants from discrimination as well as the revised Charter of European political parties for a non-racist and inclusive society;

8.5. calls for regular consultations, on a formal footing, between the Assembly, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, the CDADI, ECRI and the International Non-Governmental Organisations (INGO) Conference with a view to looking at how migration and asylum questions are treated in election campaigns, in the wider context of the integration of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, and to aligning standards and initiatives in this area through the promotion of training tools designed for electoral management bodies and focusing on the Council of Europe’s standards on the fight against hate speech. The Assembly stresses the importance of involving the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Migration and Refugees in such a process, particularly in the context of her fact-finding missions and of the implementation of the Council of Europe Action Plan on Protecting Vulnerable Persons in the Context of Migration and Asylum in Europe (2021-2025), in particular its pillar dedicated to fostering democratic participation and enhancing inclusion (human rights and democracy).

9. The Assembly reiterates the recommendation made in Resolution 2504 (2023) “Health and social protection of undocumented workers or those in an irregular situation” that the restriction of the personal scope of application of the European Social Charter (ETS No. 35) be removed.

10. The Assembly recommends that the parliaments of member States:

10.1. reflect on concerns and consider recommendations issued in Resolution 2317(2020) “Threats to media freedom and journalists’ security in Europe” and in Resolution 1889(2012) above-mentioned;

10.2. recognise, in a self-regulation instrument, the seriousness of hate speech, including covert hate speech, and provide for effective mechanisms for reporting and taking action against such statements. The Assembly recommends that national human rights institutions be involved in this process;

10.3. work towards adopting a definition of hate speech to be enshrined into civil or criminal law or amending such definition, and facilitate the examination of legal action against it in line with ECRI’s General Policy Recommendation No.15. The Assembly recommends that national human rights institutions be also involved in this process;

10.4. work towards the amendment of electoral legislation in force so that electoral management bodies or any other competent entity be recognised as monitoring bodies empowered to seize the competent authority in case of hate speech by a candidate during an electoral campaign. The Assembly recommends also to work towards the development of administrative mechanisms to tackle the use of such narratives and to sanction them according to an equal, fair and swift procedure;

10.5. support the independence and financial capability of authorities regulating public media;

II SÉRIE-D — NÚMERO 19 ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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