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Additional Protocol to the Convention on Cybercrime, concerning the criminalisation of acts of a racist and xenophobic nature committed through computer systems is an additional protocol to the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime. This additional protocol was the subject of negotiations in late 2001 and early 2002. Final text of this protocol was adopted by the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers on 7 November 2002 under the title "''Additional Protocol to the Convention on cybercrime, concerning the criminalisation of acts of a racist and xenophobic nature committed through computer systems'', ("Protocol"). The Protocol opened on 28 January 2003 and entry into force is 1 March 2006. As of July 2017, 29 States have ratified the Protocol and a further 13 have signed the Protocol but have not yet followed with ratification.APCoc Treaty open for signature by the States which have signed the Treaty ETS 185.
on the Council of Europe web site
The Protocol requires participating States to criminalize the dissemination of racist and
xenophobic Xenophobia () is the fear or dislike of anything which is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression of perceived conflict between an in-group and out-group and may manifest in suspicion by the one of the other's activities, a ...
material through computer systems, as well as of racist and xenophobic-motivated threats and insults. Article 6, Section 1 of the Protocol specifically covers the denial of
the Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...
and other genocides recognized as such by other international courts set up since 1945 by relevant international legal instruments. Section 2 of Article 6 allows a Party to the Protocol at their discretion only to prosecute if the offense is committed with the intent to incite hatred, discrimination or violence; or to make use of a reservation, by allowing a Party not to apply – in whole or in part – Article 6.Explanatory Report on the additional protocol to the convention on cybercrime
/ref> The Council of Europe ''Explanatory Report'' of the Protocol states the "
European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that ...
has made it clear that the denial or revision of 'clearly established historical facts – such as the Holocaust – ... would be removed from the protection of Article 10 by Article 17' of the ECHR (see in this context the Lehideux and Isorni judgment of 23 September 1998)". Two of the English speaking states in Europe, Ireland and the United Kingdom, have not signed the additional protocol, (the third, Malta, signed on 28 January 2003, but has not yet ratified it). On 8 July 2005 Canada became the first non-European state to sign the convention. The United States government does not believe that the final version of the Protocol is consistent with the United States' constitutional guarantees and has informed the Council of Europe that the United States will not become a Party to the protocol.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Additional Protocol to the Convention on Cybercrime Cybercrime Computer law treaties International criminal law treaties Laws criminalizing Holocaust denial Anti-racism in Europe Xenophobia Council of Europe treaties Treaties concluded in 2003 Treaties entered into force in 2006 Treaties of Albania Treaties of Armenia Treaties of Bosnia and Herzegovina Treaties of Croatia Treaties of Cyprus Treaties of the Czech Republic Treaties of Denmark Treaties of Finland Treaties of France Treaties of Germany Treaties of Greece Treaties of Latvia Treaties of Lithuania Treaties of North Macedonia Treaties of Monaco Treaties of Montenegro Treaties of the Netherlands Treaties of Norway Treaties of Portugal Treaties of Romania Treaties of Senegal Treaties of Serbia Treaties of Slovenia Treaties of Spain Treaties of Ukraine 2003 in France