A/HRC/62/56 73. Data indicating rising hate crime rates in several countries, including significant increases in racially and religiously motivated incidents. The Special Rapporteur is concerned by reports that active links between law enforcement officials and neo-Nazi and other extremist groups can be a contributing factor to the elevated rates of the disproportionate use of force targeting Black Americans.35 74. Rising hate crime levels have shown to include increasing targeting of migrants, including refugees and asylum seekers. These offences reportedly included property damage, threats, hate speech and physical assaults. The Special Rapporteur observes that these patterns reflect the continued direct targeting of refugees and migrants, including by far-right actors, and raise concerns regarding the adequacy of measures to ensure their protection and safety. 75. In addition to rising hate crime, the Special Rapporteur also received reports that neoNazism and other forms of related extremism are leading to the perpetration of acts of terror, including those targeting racialised groups. For example, a 2025 report of Europol documents the arrest of 47 individuals across 10 European Union Member States in 2024 on suspicion of involvement in violent right-wing terrorist activities.36 The marked increase in incidents of racial violence and hate crimes across several Western countries in recent years targeting individuals belonging to racial, religious and linguistic minority communities raise serious concerns regarding the effective implementation of principles of equality, non-discrimination and pluralism. V. Conclusions and recommendations 76. The Special Rapporteur notes that since the previous reporting cycle, manifestations of neo-Nazism and related extremism have continued to evolve and intensify rapidly. Generative artificial intelligence is increasingly being used at scale to produce and circulate hateful content, deepfakes targeting racialised groups and communities have proliferated across social platforms, and decentralised online ecosystems have made it harder to track the recruitment activities of extremist movements. The continuing armed conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza and Sudan have been instrumentalised by extremist actors to amplify antisemitism, anti-Muslim hatred, antiBlack racism and xenophobia. Against this backdrop, the Special Rapporteur urges Member States to act with renewed urgency. 77. The Special Rapporteur underscores that the intensification of such incidents reflects a complex and evolving phenomenon, linked to broader structural factors, including persistent inequalities and the normalization of intolerant discourse in public debate. The situation warrants sustained attention and the adoption of comprehensive measures aimed at prevention, accountability and the protection of affected individuals and communities. 78. The Special Rapporteur recommends that Member States: (a) Adopt comprehensive measures to counter racist hate speech, xenophobic political discourse and the mainstreaming of extremist narratives in electoral campaigns, while upholding the right to freedom of expression, in line with the recommendations of the United Nations human rights mechanisms, in particular general recommendation No. 35 (2013) of the CERD, the relevant provisions of the ICCPR, the Rabat Plan of Action and the United Nations Strategy and Plan of Action on Hate Speech; 35 36 16 Brannan Centre for Justice, “Hidden in Plain Sight: Racism, White Supremacy, and Far-Right Militancy in Law Enforcement” (2020). Europol, European Union Terrorism Situation and Trend Report 2025 (EU TE-SAT) (Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2025), PDF, accessed May 8, 2026, https://www.europol.europa.eu/cms/sites/default/files/documents/EU_TE-SAT_2025.pdf. (europol.europa.eu).