A/HRC/56/67 7. The Office of the Commissioner for the Protection from Discrimination detailed recommendations that had been made on the integration of protection from racial discrimination into various national action plans. The Office provided information about being called as a party in four court proceedings relating to discrimination on the grounds of race and ethnicity, as well as about jurisprudence relating to racial discrimination of the European Court of Human Rights. In addition, the Office provided information about the complaints of discrimination that it had received. B. Australia 8. Australia provided information on the legal framework in place to provide protection from discrimination. According to the information received, the Racial Discrimination Act of 1975 upholds the right to be free from discrimination on the grounds of race, colour, descent or national or ethnic origin. The Act reportedly prohibits unlawful discrimination or vilification on those grounds in line with the obligations of Australia under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. Australia also provided information about the Counter-Terrorism Legislation Amendment (Prohibited Hate Symbols and Other Measures) Act of 2023. The Act reportedly creates new criminal offences for publicly displaying symbols of prohibited Nazi or terrorist organizations or trading in items bearing those symbols. It also criminalizes the public performance of the Nazi salute. Australia provided information about counter-terrorism laws and relevant provisions within the Criminal Code. 9. Australia described how, as part of the federal budget for 2022/23, $A 7.5 million was allocated, over four years, to the Australian Human Rights Commission to develop a national anti-racism strategy to tackle racism and promote racial equality. The strategy has two pillars. The first involves the development of a national anti-racism framework, which will support the commitment of the Government, civil society, businesses and the community to tackle racism and promote racial equality in Australia. The second is focused on updating the “Racism. It Stops with Me” campaign, which seeks to raise public awareness, deliver public education and build community capacity to combat racism and discriminatory attitudes, according to the information provided. 10. Australia described how the Hamas-Israel armed conflict continued to be a catalyst for hate speech and incitement to violence, in particular against Australian Jewish, Muslim and Arab communities. In response to this, the Government, led by the Department of Home Affairs, had taken several steps. For example, it had committed to funding, totalling $A 87.8 million, for a package of social cohesion measures to support communities affected by the ongoing conflict. One such measure was the commitment to spend $A 25 million to support communities who had been affected by the Hamas-Israel conflict, with some of the funding going directly to combating racism. In addition, steps had reportedly been taken to ensure fact-checked, balanced and impartial news in relation to the Hamas-Israel conflict to dispel misinformation and disinformation. C. Azerbaijan 11. Azerbaijan reported on the legal framework in place to provide protection from discrimination. The equal rights of everyone, irrespective of race, ethnicity, religion, language, sex, origin, property status, occupation, beliefs or affiliation with political parties, trade union organizations or other public associations was guaranteed under article 25 of the Constitution, according to the information provided. Azerbaijan reported that article 154 (1) of the Criminal Code established criminal liability for the infringement of equality of citizens that caused harm to their rights and legitimate interests and that article 10 of the Law on the Mass Media prohibited the dissemination of violent and cruel propaganda, the spreading of rumours based national, racial or social justice intolerance, false and biased writings, defamation, degrading the honour and dignity of citizens under the guise of an authoritative source and/or the use of mass media for the purpose of committing other illegal acts. GE.24-08848 3