Csaba Korosi, president of the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly, addresses a high-level event to commemorate the first International Day to Combat Islamophobia at the UN headquarters in New York, on March 10, 2023.(Loey Felipe/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua)
"Like a virus, racism mutates and adapts itself to different times and contexts," UN General Assembly President Csaba Korosi said.
UNITED NATIONS, March 22, 2023 -- Racism is like a luxury car with a new model annually that if unchecked can lead to genocide, UN General Assembly President Csaba Korosi said on Tuesday.
"Like a virus, racism mutates and adapts itself to different times and contexts," he told a commemorative meeting of the General Assembly to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
"Racism is like a Cadillac, there is a new model every year," Korosi said during his remarks. "Racism and hate speech are besieging our societies from many directions. Old falsehoods have taken on new forms, embedded in modern technologies."
He noted that racism takes on new, covert, but no less-toxic forms online.
"Algorithms can perpetuate racial stereotypes and biases," he said. "Technology can be used to increase illegal surveillance and reinforce discriminatory practices. And, of course, left unregulated, social media can supercharge campaigns of extreme violence that can go as far as fomenting genocide."
Korosi said governments and tech corporations should work together to regulate virtual platforms and curb hate wherever it appears and in all its languages.
"Most of the harmful narratives are rooted in notions of racial supremacy, and they evoke atavistic fears. Even worse, they embolden extremists by giving legitimacy to their acts of violence," he said.
Korosi called for working toward a fair and equal world "through education, dialogue, advocacy and self-reflection, through just policy-making and good governance," saying it is owed to victims of racism "who have dedicated their lives to combatting discrimination and racial violence."
