A/HRC/38/52 dangerous normalization and mainstreaming of racist and xenophobic discourse in public discourse, in part due to the growth and spread of ethno-nationalist ideologies. Political parties and leaders have shown increasing and disturbing tolerance for ethno-nationalist messages of hatred and intolerance in their political platforms. Countries that have long celebrated immigration as central to their national identity have now taken steps to vilify and undermine immigration, with a disproportionate effect on certain racial, religious and national groups. Even countries such as Argentina, which have been celebrated by holders of this mandate in the past for their human rights-based immigration policies, are now rolling back these policies under anti-immigrant political leadership.55 41. The rise of populist nationalism and right-wing extremism has delivered a devastating blow to racial equality, especially in the global North. Non-citizens, including refugees and stateless persons, have been the most vulnerable as a result of the ethno-nationalism that has accompanied this rise, although others have been targets, including women, sexual minorities and people with disabilities. Racist and xenophobic speech and violence against racial and other minorities, and against refugees and migrants in particular, escalated in the wake of the decision by the United Kingdom to leave the European Union, or “Brexit”, and national elections in Europe, North America and Australia.56 At the same time, States and politicians have used offensive and Islamophobic rhetoric to justify blanket immigration bans and military force and fences at border crossings in violation of their obligations under international human rights law and international refugee law. In other countries, the primary targets of blanket immigration prohibitions have been Africans and people of African descent. 57 Reputable reports have uncovered the underhanded tactics of ethno-nationalist political leaders and even official government leaders who have been willing to spend millions deliberately to spread “fake news” or false information about refugees and involuntary migrants. 58 These lies are dangerous and even fatal when they raise national resistance to and violence against asylum seekers and migrants, and more generally escalate racial, ethnic and religious intolerance.59 42. Present day Europe offers a multitude of examples of national identity anxiety ranging from explicitly articulated calls for racial or ethnic purity, to coded calls for religious or linguistic preservation. In some cases, ethno-nationalist arguments are pretextually framed as defences of linguistic, cultural or religious identity. But when linguistic and cultural requirements in naturalization or immigration laws have the effect of excluding groups from the benefits of the State on the basis of their race, ethnicity or religion, these requirements should be seen as an urgent and unlawful threat to racial equality. The Special Rapporteur expresses grave concern about the growing number of States that have threatened and even adopted blanket bans against refugees of particular religions or national origin, most commonly Muslims and Muslim majority countries. 60 Religious discrimination blatantly 55 56 57 58 59 60 See A/HRC/35/41/Add.1. A 2017 presidential decree took the regressive step of overturning or undermining one of the most progressive immigration policies in the world, in an atmosphere of growing racism and xenophobia against non-nationals. See Alejandro Grimson, “Argentina’s antiimmigrant about-face”, North American Congress on Latin America Report on the Americas, vol. 49, No. 2 (2017), p. 123. Available at www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10714839.2017.1331792. See, for example, A/HRC/35/41/Add.2, para. 56; A/HRC/35/42, paras. 17–18; A/72/287, paras. 11– 17; A/HRC/32/50, paras. 64–65. See OHCHR, “Israel: UN experts urge immediate halt of plans to deport Eritrean and Sudanese nationals”, 1 March 2018. Available at www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/ DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=22741&LangID=E. See Human Rights Watch, “Hungary’s xenophobic anti-migrant campaign”, 13 September 2016. Available at www.hrw.org/news/2016/09/13/hungarys-xenophobic-anti-migrant-campaign. See OHCHR, “Hungary: opinion editorial by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein”, 6 March 2018. Available at www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=22765. In the case of International Refugee Assistance Project v. Trump, 883 F.3d 233, 269 (2018), the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit noted that “plaintiffs offer undisputed evidence that the President of the United States has openly and often expressed his desire to ban those of Islamic faith from entering the United States. The Proclamation [travel ban] is thus not only a likely Establishment Clause violation, but also strikes at the basic notion that the government may not act based on ‘religious animosity’” (p. 52). See also Secretary General of the Council of Europe, “No 13