A/HRC/32/50/Add.1
68.
In this connection, and in a spirit of continued constructive dialogue with the
Government and other relevant stakeholders, the Special Rapporteur wishes to
formulate the recommendations listed below.
Legal framework
69.
The Special Rapporteur recommends that the Government:
(a)
Expedite the ratification of United Nations treaties that still have not
been ratified, particularly the International Convention on the Protection of the
Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families. Protocol No. 12 to the
Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and the
Additional Protocol to the Convention on Cybercrime, concerning the criminalization
of acts of a racist and xenophobic nature committed through computer systems,
should also be ratified;
(b)
Amend Law No. 4285/2014 to include language and citizenship among
the existing list of grounds of discrimination in articles 1 and 81A. The Law should
also criminalize the public expression, with a racist aim, of ideologies with a claim of
superiority, defamation and the public dissemination or production and storage of
racist material;
(c)
Amend Law No. 3304/2005 to include the grounds of colour, citizenship
and language, extend the scope of chapter III of that Law to include social protection,
education and access to goods and services, and include a direct obligation on all
public authorities to prevent discrimination in the carrying out of their functions.
Institutional framework
70.
The Special Rapporteur recommends that the Government:
(a)
Amend the founding Law of the Greek Ombudsperson’s Office, Law
No. 24/77/1997, to strengthen the role of the Office by granting it the right to initiate
and participate in court cases, as well as intervene in favour of plaintiffs whose cases it
has investigated;
(b)
Grant the Equal Treatment Committee and the Labour Inspectorate an
independent status similar to that of the Greek Ombudsman.
Hate speech
71.
The Special Rapporteur recommends that the Government:
(a)
Set up a national monitoring mechanism for incidents of hate speech that
should include, but not be limited to, a centralized database for court cases;
(b)
Train its public servants to respect and defend human rights.
72.
Civil society and Greek institutions that fight against racism can play an
important role in the reduction of hate speech as well. This could be realized through
campaigns in all public areas and on transport, with the collaboration of the Greek
authorities at both the national and municipal levels.
Discrimination, violence and hate-motivated offences
73.
The Special Rapporteur also recommends that:
(a)
The Government initiate a reliable and effective body of inspection and
data collection, independent of the police and prosecution, entrusted with the
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