A/HRC/23/24 the legislative, policy and institutional measures taken by States in different sectors that could be replicated in and adapted to local context. Such governmental measures have also been complemented by encouraging initiatives developed by civil society organizations. 19. The Special Rapporteur notes that a growing number of States include in their Constitution and laws prohibitions against racial discrimination and xenophobia. Furthermore, a growing number of States have incorporated the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination into their domestic law, and have recognized the competence of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination to receive and consider communications from individuals or groups of individuals claiming to be victims of a violation by the State of any of the rights set forth in the Convention. 20. Furthermore, a growing number of States have enacted either specific laws with, or included in their general Criminal Code, provisions on aggravating circumstance for offences committed on the grounds of persecution or hatred based on race, religion or nationality, or for the purpose of completely or partially annihilating a national, ethnic, racial or religious group or individual. The Special Rapporteur welcomes such legislative developments at the domestic level. 21. Similarly, a number of States have included provisions in their migration and refugee laws that reaffirm the principle of non-discrimination and mandate the specific institutions in charge of issues relating to migrants and refugees to take all measures necessary to prevent discrimination against these vulnerable groups. 22. In some cases, such legislative developments have also been accompanied by the establishment of specific institutions, such as a national human rights institution or ombudsperson, in accordance with the Paris Principles, to receive and consider communications referred to in the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. Such institutions are sometimes also empowered to receive complaints and investigate cases of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. The Special Rapporteur welcomes these developments and recommends that such specialized institutions also monitor and raise awareness about the challenges posed by extremist political parties, movements and groups, and provide advice on measures to counter them. States should ensure that such institutions have a robust mandate and adequate resources to discharge it. 23. The Special Rapporteur was also informed about and welcomes the establishment of specific units or offices mandated to combat discrimination and xenophobia and responsible for issues relating to discrimination, racism and xenophobia, which provide liaison with the police, the judiciary and governmental and non-governmental organizations. These specific units sometime register criminal offences with a racist or xenophobic motive and also regularly monitor websites, web chat rooms and other forums associated or linked with violent extreme right-wing groups. 24. The Special Rapporteur also welcomes measures taken by States with regard to the training of their officials, in particular law enforcement agents. He was informed of programmes that include human rights training sessions developed for the police, the judiciary and the Public Prosecutor’s Office. The Special Rapporteur also noted with interest that some countries had developed specific statistics collection systems that disaggregate data on hate crimes, including hate crimes committed against individuals on the grounds of race, colour, ethnicity, origin or minority status, citizenship, language, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender or transgender. The Special Rapporteur also noted that, in the absence of official data in some States, non-governmental organizations play a key role by collecting statistical data on hate crimes. He welcomes these initiatives, which allow the prevalence of such crimes and the impact of legislation on racist and xenophobic crimes to be assessed. 7