A/69/334 gender, sexual orientation or political or philosophical orientation. The offence of racism is punishable by prison sentences from 12 to 36 months and fines from 10 to 15 times the minimum wage. In article 7 of the Law, the offence of anti-Semitism is typified as any dissemination of ideas or doctrines that foster or encourage practices of genocide or anti-Semitism, including those that justify or support regimes and institutions that lead to such practices. The crime of anti-Semitism is punishable by sentences from 96 to 180 months, fines of 666 to 1,500 times the minimum wage, and disqualification from being considered for any public position fo r 80 to 180 months. Furthermore, committing such offences in a public space or via mass public media constitutes aggravating circumstances that lead to stronger punishment. 27. The National Development Plan initiated by the Government, among other things, focuses on the elimination of the phenomenon of discrimination and the implementation of real equality. In 2011, the National System of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Rights was created by Decree No. 4100, and the Intersectoral Commission of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Rights was made more effective. These institutions coordinate the entities and several instances of the State to promote the respect for human rights by designing, implementing and evaluating the policies that focus on rights and equality. 28. On 12 December 2013, the Government presented its draft human rights policy for 2014 to 2034, which gathered inputs from civil society, government institutions and international organizations, and which encompasses in its fra mework special provisions for the fight against exclusion and discrimination. 29. Finally, the Government reiterated its firm commitment to the elimination and sanction of any form of discrimination on the basis of race, gender, religion, nationality, sexuality, language, economic or social condition, or any other reason. F. Cyprus 30. The Government drew attention to the Act on Combating Certain Forms and Expressions of Racism and Xenophobia by Means of Criminal Law (Law No. 134(I)/2011), which incorporated the Council Framework Decision 2008/913/JHA, and criminalized incitement to violence or hatred directed against a group of persons or a member of such a group defined by reference to race, colour, religion, descent or national or ethnic origin, and the public condoning, denying or grossly trivializing of crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes. Furthermore, following the ratification of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, Cyprus ame nded the Ratification Law (Law 11(III)/92) so as to create a number of criminal offences relating to racism. 31. In the context of the police policy statement for the prevention, handling and combating of discrimination and racist crime, the Cyprus Nationa l Police has upgraded and enriched the education and training of its members on issues concerning the fight against racism and the acceptance of differences, to improve the handling and the investigation of incidents and/or cases of racism. Similarly, existing training programmes for prison wardens also include an extensive thematic content on human rights, racism and discrimination, as well as a workshop on the characteristics of different religions, xenophobia, racism and discrimination. In addition, in the context of the security policy outlined in the governance programme 14-59563 7/17

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