Adama Dieng, the special adviser on prevention of genocide, and Jennifer Welsh, the special adviser on the responsibility to protect civilians, say that any “advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence” is prohibited by international human rights law and laws in many countries.

In a statement on Monday, they denounced “the deliberate and dangerous spread of misinformation and the manipulation of people’s fears and concerns for political gain”.

Dieng and Welsh said calls by some US political figures to bar Muslims from entering the United States are “unacceptable” and “an affront” to humanity.