A/HRC/59/63 95. The submission also provided information on measures taken by several States and other actors in response to rising violence against the Jewish community. IV. Applicable international legal framework 96. The prohibition of racial discrimination is a peremptory norm of international law – fundamental and universally binding, with no exceptions allows. Any treaty or agreement conflicting with it is void.2 The most comprehensive prohibition is found in the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. Other key human rights treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities affirm that all persons, by virtue of their humanity, are entitled to enjoy human rights without discrimination. By ratifying these treaties, States commit to respect, protect and fulfil the rights provided therein. 97. States are obliged to refrain from discrimination in their laws, policies and practices.3 Article 2 (1) of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination requires States and all public authorities, at national and local levels, to refrain from any act of racial discrimination. States must also not sponsor, defend or support racial discrimination by any individuals or organizations, including those promoting racial superiority or intolerance. 98. States are obliged to protect individuals within their jurisdiction from discrimination by third parties, which requires the enacting of comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation that prohibits all forms of discrimination and ensures equal and effective protection for all.4 The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights recommends that such laws clearly define and prohibit all forms of discrimination, covering all grounds of discrimination recognized under international law and applying in all areas of life regulated by law.5 They should also include an extensive, open-ended list of protected characteristics, and explicitly prohibit direct and indirect discrimination, segregation, victimization and retaliation.6 99. The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights prohibit the propagation of racist and xenophobic ideas, as well as the advocacy of national, racial or religious prejudice that amounts to incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence. Article 4 of the Convention obliges States Parties to take immediate and positive measures to eliminate incitement to, and acts of, racial discrimination. It also requires States to criminalize the dissemination of ideas based on racial superiority or hatred, incitement to racial discrimination, and any acts of violence or incitement to such acts, against any race or 2 3 4 5 6 GE.25-07709 See A/77/10 and A/CN.4/727. Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, general comment No. 24 (2017), para. 10; Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, general recommendation No. 28 (2010), para. 9; Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, “Statement on the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and its implications under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination” (2020), p. 2; and Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, general comment No. 6 (2018), para. 30. The Human Rights Committee has articulated the obligations of States under art. 2 (1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in terms of the negative obligation to refrain from discrimination and the positive obligation to adopt protective measures. In its general comment No. 18 (1989), the Human Rights Committee makes it clear that fulfilment of the rights to equality and non-discrimination requires positive action. See, respectively, Human Rights Committee, general comment No. 31 (2004), paras. 6 and 8; and Human Rights Committee, general comment No. 18 (1989), para. 10. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, art. 26. Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Protecting Minority Rights: A Practical Guide to Developing Comprehensive Anti-Discrimination Legislation (New York and Geneva, 2023). Ibid. 15