A/HRC/41/55 willing to engage in radical social behaviour. 55 Often, young people join out-groups, motivated by the search for adventure, where their first actions are in the form of antisocial ideas or provocative behaviour such as rioting, vandalism or street fights. 56 29. Furthermore, the need for personal significance makes the occurrence of both proand antisocial extreme behaviour more likely. As young individuals strive to find meaning in life and prove their worth to themselves and others, some will be more likely to engage in extreme, high-investment behaviours in service of idealistic values. High among such values are the preservation, promotion and defence of one’s in-group and the ideals of justice and truth. Extremist conduct offers certain individuals a restoration of threatened self-significance.57 30. In several studies examining non-ideological risk factors, former neo-Nazis or white supremacists who predominantly joined hate groups as children reported experiencing one or more of the following adverse environmental conditions: childhood physical abuse, childhood or adolescent sexual abuse, emotional and physical neglect, parental incarceration, parental abandonment, the witnessing of serious violence (domestic and/or neighbourhood) and/or family disruption (for example, divorced or deceased parents). 58 Several psychological studies have proven that events of this sort may contribute to an increased likelihood of neo-Nazi and related extremist radicalization. 59 One former neoNazi member explained that while the search for identity, and the need to belong to a community or a group and have a purpose to his life motivated his “descent into America’s neo-Nazi movement”, a sense of family abandonment was for him an important factor that convinced him to rally support for hate and racist movements. 60 Within the school context, poor performance in class, bullying, truancy and negative group influences, as well as a distancing from, rejection of or conflict with adults at school or other classmates, are factors that indicate that a young person may to turn to hate groups. 61 These socioenvironmental factors all represent triggers, usually combined with psychological features, that can potentially disrupt the normal development of a young person’s life. 31. The above-mentioned factors help explain the circumstances of youth recruitment, but should by no means be understood to excuse or exonerate extremism and those who participate in neo-Nazi and related supremacist activities. Today, sociologists generally approach neo-Nazi and related movements as social movements that bring together those sharing a common ideology. Movements committed to racist and xenophobic ideology exploit the psychological and socioenvironmental factors described above to successfully target youth.62 V. Applicable racial equality framework 32. In international human rights law, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights impose strong limitations on the propagation of racist and xenophobic ideas, and outlaw the advocacy of national, racial or religious prejudices that amount to incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence. The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, in its general recommendation No. 35 (2013) on combating racist hate 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 8 Michael A. Hogg and Janice Adelman, “Uncertainty – identity theory: extreme groups, radical behavior, and authoritarian leadership”, Journal of Social Issues, vol. 69, No. 3 (September 2013). Sterkenburg, Gssime and Meines, “Local-level management of far-right extremism”, p. 4. Katarzyna Jasko, Gary LaFree and Arie Kruglanski, “Quest for significance and violent extremism: the case of domestic radicalization”, vol. 38, No. 5 (November 2016). Simi, Sporer and Bubolz, “Narratives of childhood adversity”, p. 9. Studies cited in Simi, Sporer and Bubolz, “Narratives of childhood adversity”, p. 9. Christian Picciolini, “My descent into America’s neo-Nazi movement – and how I got out”, TEDxMileHigh talk, November 2017, available at www.ted.com/talks/christian_picciolini_my_descent_into_america_s_neo_nazi_movement_and_how _i_got_out/transcript. Odén, “The way out”, p. 7. Ibid.