A/73/305 including the freedoms of assembly, expression and association, apply to all persons everywhere. International human rights law requires States to respect, protect and fulfil the rights of defenders, including those fighting for racial equality and on behalf of migrants. 72 Moreover, the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, in its article 98, establishes the duty (a) “to render assistance to any person found at sea in danger of being lost” and (b) “to proceed with all possible speed to the rescue of persons in distress, if informed of their need of assistance ”. The same article stipulates that “every coastal State shall promote the establishment, operation and maintenance of an adequate and effective search and rescue service regarding safety on and over the sea and, where circumstances so require, by way of mutual regional arrangements cooperate with neighbouring States for this purpose”. The leading interpretation of this provision is that “the fact that the persons are engaged in an unlawful activity should not make any difference to the duty to rescue [and] the fact that the persons to be saved are migrants should not in any way hinder their right to be saved ”. 73 49. The promotion of political and policy agendas aimed at reasserting “traditional values” to the detriment of the rights of women and some gender non-conforming persons is in contravention of international law. Article 5 (a) of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women requires States parties to implement appropriate measures to achieve the elimination of prejudices and customary and all other practices based on the idea of the inferiority or the superiority of either of the sexes or on stereotyped roles for men and women. Article 7 obliges States parties to take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in political and public life, including in the formulation and implementation of government policy. 74 In its general recommendation No. 32 (2014), the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women clarified that the Convention necessarily applies to sex- and gender-based discrimination that disproportionately affects certain women because of their race, ethnicity, religion or belief, caste or other status. Racist and xenophobic expression 50. Under international human rights law, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights impose strong limitations on the propagation of racist and xenophobic expression, and outlaw the advocacy of national, racial or religious prejudice that amounts to incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence. The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, in its general recommendation No. 35 (2013), provided a useful explanation of how States parties should approach the regulation of racist speech under the Convention. The recommendation highlights a number of factors that should inform th e practice of Member States. Significantly, the Committee recalls that racial equality and freedom of expression are symbiotic, and should not be pitted against each other in a competitive or zero-sum manner. Instead, “The rights to equality and freedom from discrimination, and the right to freedom of expression, should be fully reflected in law, and policy and practice as mutually supportive human rights. ” 75 51. Article 4 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination requires State parties to “condemn all propaganda and all __________________ 72 73 74 75 18-12945 See A/HRC/37/34. Irini Papanicolopulu, “The duty to rescue at sea, in peacetime and in war: a general overview ”, in “War and security at sea”, International Review of the Red Cross, vol. 98, No. 2 (August 2016), p. 495. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, general recommendation No. 23 (1997) on women in political and public life, para. 7. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, general recommendation No. 35 (2013) on combating racist hate speech, para. 45. 17/22