A/69/266 rights law relating to freedom of expression and prohibition of hate speec h, elements and trends present in the media, including online media, which could constitute incitement to violence by means of hate speech. Media monitoring entities should be able to report their findings to relevant authorities in order to prompt an investigation and the initiation of criminal procedures against perpetrators, as appropriate. 26. Hate speech against Roma is widespread in the media and in public political discourse in many European countries. It dangerously labels the entire Roma population as criminal, aggressive or parasites on welfare systems. Roma rarely have access to mainstream media or public positions and seldom have the chance to challenge such stigmatization. The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights found that one in five Roma reported experiencing racist violence. 12 A tragic manifestation of how hate speech can fuel and turn into hate crimes occurred in Hungary during the period 2008-2009, when brutal attacks against randomly chosen, innocent Roma took the lives of six of them, including a 4-year-old boy. During their trial, the suspects, who were subsequently imprisoned, referred to Gypsy criminality and other expressions used in mainstream media, which they be lieved justified their actions. 27. On 2 July 2014, the Special Rapporteur on minority issues, along with other United Nations experts, called on Sri Lanka to adopt urgent measures to stop the racial and faith-based hatred and violence directed at Muslim and Christian communities by Buddhist groups with extremist views, and to bring perpetrators to justice. 13 A group known as Bodu Bala Sena (Buddhist Power Force), along with other groups, is promoting extremist views, proclaiming the racial superiority of Sinhala Buddhists and spreading fear among the population by, for e xample, alleging that statues of Buddha are being bulldozed by religious minorities or that evangelical Christians are forcibly converting vulnerable people. These statements have fuelled tensions and contributed to more than 350 violent attacks against Muslims and over 150 attacks against Christians in the past two years. 28. Media can also contribute to understanding and reconciliation. For example, the Panzagar (flower speech) campaign was launched by activists in 2014 to counter hate speech against Muslims which had become common in the Myanmar media. D. History of violence with impunity and tensions without reconciliation 29. Other relevant factors which contribute to the outbreak of violence include past and unresolved grievances, a history of ethnic and/or religious tensions between groups without reconciliation, agitation of ethnic or religious components by political leaders, and impunity when perpetrators act without consequences. The Special Rapporteur has noted concern regarding the extent of violence against religious minorities, including in her report to the General Assembly in 2013 (A/68/268) in which she stated that acts of violence and widespread and systematic __________________ 12 13 14-58850 European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, European Union Minorities and Discrimination Survey, Data in Focus Report 1: The Roma (2009). Available from http://fra.europa.eu/sites/default/files/fra_uploads/413-EUMIDIS_ROMA_EN.pdf. www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=14812&LangID=E. 9/24