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VIDEO: UN chief slams far-right politicians, comparing them to IS

UN human rights chief Zeid Raad al-Hussein accuses populist politics of fuelling hate and bigotry
Zeid Raad al-Hussein said right-wing politicians like France's Marine le Pen used tactics similar to those of IS (MEE)

The UN's human rights chief this week accused US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and prominent nationalists in Europe of spreading "humiliating racial and religious prejudice," and warned of the rise of populist politics that could turn violent.

The outspoken comments from Hussein, who worked as a peacekeeper in the Balkans for two decades, came at a gala for the Peace, Justice and Security Foundation in The Hague on Tuesday.

"I am angry," said Hussein, who went on to compare the methods used by populist politicians and those of IS. 

"The formula is therefore simple: make people, already nervous, feel terrible, and then emphasize it’s all because of a group, lying within, foreign and menacing. 

"Then make your target audience feel good by offering up what is a fantasy to them, but a horrendous injustice to others.

"In its mode of communication, its use of half-truths and oversimplification, the propaganda of [IS] uses tactics similar to those of the populists.

"And both sides of this equation benefit from each other – indeed would not expand in influence without each others’ actions."

This article is available in French on Middle East Eye French edition.

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