A/71/325 fundamental human rights for millions of impoverished persons, indigenous and Afro-descendent communities and members of other vulnerable social groups. C. Germany 17. The Government of Germany stressed that it is the responsibility of Governments and civil society to combat racism and other forms of discrimination, including condemnation of any forms of glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism and other practices that contribute to fuelling contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. The Government stressed that, considering the responsibility of past history, it is particularly committed to this challenge. 18. The Government underlined that combating racism is a top priority on the Government’s agenda but that it cannot solve the problem on its own. Therefore, it highlighted examples of cooperation with civil society, including the creation of the “Forum against Racism”, which comprises a wide range of civil society representatives. 19. The Government stressed that the fight against all kinds of stereotypes through educational and general awareness programmes is key to combating racism. In this regard, the Government mentioned several initiatives such as the “Cohesion through participation” programme; the Federal Agency for Civic Education; and the Alliance for Democracy and Tolerance. The Government also reported that educational visits to memorial sites and institutions dedicated to preserving the memory of the crimes committed during the Nazi period are common in schools throughout Germany. 20. The Government indicated that the protection of human rights in general and the prohibition of discriminatory practices in particular form part of the training of police officers. Police officers receive courses dealing with xenophobia and racism. Section 130 of the German Criminal Code states that whoever approves of, denies or downplays crimes committed under Nazi rule is liable to imprisonment of up to five years. Similarly, violating the dignity of the victims of Nazi rule by approving of, glorifying or justifying crimes committed under Nazi rule can be punished with imprisonment of up to three years. The Government also reported that offences involving discrimination against persons are separately recorded and analysed as hate crimes, and that courts generally hand out stricter sentences if a crime is motivated by hatred. 21. The Government highlighted the recent establishment, in coordination with several civil society organizations and companies, including Facebook, Google and Twitter, of a task force to combat hate speech on the Internet. The Government also reported that it strongly supports the work of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in the fight against intole rance and hate crimes. D. Italy 22. The Government of Italy referred to its legislative decree of 1 January 2016, under which public insult now amounts to an aggravating circumstance. The Government also reported that the National Office against Racial Discrimination has addressed each practice that contributes to fuelling racism, racial discrimination, 6/20 16-13939