A/HRC/50/61 I. Introduction 1. The present report is submitted to the Human Rights Council pursuant to General Assembly resolution 76/149, in which the Assembly requested the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance to submit a report on the implementation of that resolution to the Council at its fiftieth session. 2. In the present report, the Special Rapporteur summarizes information received from Member States with regard to the implementation of the above-mentioned resolution. She thanks Member States who made submissions for their contributions. She also expresses her gratitude for the submissions from four non-governmental organizations. 3. The Special Rapporteur notes, with alarm, that the Russian Federation has sought to justify its military invasion and territorial aggression in Ukraine on the purported basis of eliminating neo-Nazism. This is a blatant instrumentalization of the serious human rights concerns raised by neo-Nazi mobilizations where they exist. The Special Rapporteur interprets resolution 76/149 as seeking the genuine protection of groups and individuals subject to human rights violations rooted in neo-Nazism. The use of neo-Nazism as a pretext to justify territorial aggression seriously undermines genuine attempts to combat neoNazism. The Special Rapporteur denounces and condemns in the strongest terms such pretextual use, including in relation to the unlawful breach of the sovereign territory of Ukraine and the humanitarian crisis that breach has caused. 4. In the present report, the Special Rapporteur also outlines the governing principles and obligations of racial equality and non-discrimination, highlighting their application in combating racism and xenophobia. As in previous reports, she reminds Member States of the strong commitment required to tackle the increase in hate crime and incitement to violence targeting ethnic, racial and religious minorities worldwide. She also reminds States to consider the references in resolution 76/149 to the horrors of the Second World War, and to preventing future wars and saving succeeding generations from the scourge of war. She calls upon States to redouble efforts to address all forms of ethnic, racial and religious hatred, and to promote tolerance and understanding within and between countries. II. Submissions by Member States 5. In the present section, the Special Rapporteur summarizes submissions provided by Member States on laws and policies in place to combat Nazism and neo-Nazism, but she does not analyse or evaluate these laws or policies. She underscores that providing the summaries of State submissions does not constitute her endorsement of their content. Indeed, some of the laws and policies summarized below, and/or gaps and weaknesses in the relevant legislative and policy frameworks, may be, or have been, subject to review and condemnation by other actors within the United Nations human rights system for being in contravention of international human rights law. Albania 6. The Commissioner for Protection against Discrimination of Albania provided information about legal measures to address discrimination. The Commissioner outlines how the Law On Protection from Discrimination, No. 10 221 of 4 February 2010, regulates the application and observance of the principle of equality and non-discrimination in relation to, inter alia, race, ethnicity, colour, language, citizenship, political affiliation, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation and/or sex characteristics. According to the information provided, the Law was amended in 2020 to include new forms of discrimination, such as multiple discrimination, intersectional discrimination, hate speech, segregation, sexual harassment, structural discrimination, incitement to or aiding another to discriminate and the proclaimed intention of discrimination. An additional provision on “serious forms of discrimination” doubles the sanctions imposed on perpetrators. 7. The role of the Commissioner is to monitor implementation of Law 10 221, which includes the handling of individual complaints. According to information provided, in 2021 the Commissioner issued 15 decisions and 1 recommendation in cases where racial 3