WELLINGTON, May 14 (Xinhua) -- The Christchurch Call Foundation was launched by New Zealand and French leaders on Tuesday to coordinate the Christchurch Call's work to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online.
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and French President Emmanuel Macron announced the new non-governmental organization, which will be headquartered in Wellington, with points of presence in key locations around the world, according to a New Zealand government statement.
New Zealand and France founded the Christchurch Call on May 15, 2019, following the deadly shooting in two Christchurch mosques on March 15, 2016 which killed 51 prayers.
The Christchurch Call has 25 commitments made by governments and online service providers to eliminate terrorist and extremist content online, which had been spread by the gunman of the Christchurch terrorist shooting in his social media accounts as a self-proclaimed white supremacist before his attacks.
The new foundation is the outcome of the November 2023 Call Leaders' Summit, where leaders endorsed New Zealand and France building a resilient Secretariat ahead of the Christchurch Call's fifth anniversary in May 2024, the New Zealand government statement said.
Macron said the new challenges to tackle include AI-generated content.
Luxon said the government was grateful for the Muslim community in Christchurch for their valuable ongoing involvement in the work of the Christchurch Call.
New Zealand former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern who launched the Christchurch Call in 2019, will be Patron of the Call to facilitate dialogue with state leaders, deliver outreach and advocacy to raise the profile of the Christchurch Call.
The Christchurch Call's multistakeholder community includes 56 governments, 19 online service providers, 13 partner organizations, and more than 50 civil society organizations. ■
