A/73/305 on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has recom mended that the criminalization of racist expression be reserved for serious cases, to be proven beyond reasonable doubt and governed by principles of legality, proportionality and necessity, 78 and that less serious cases should be dealt with using non-criminal sanctions. The Convention requires States parties to declare illegal and prohibit racist organizations that promote and incite racial discrimination. This means that States parties must take action to prohibit racist organizations meeting the conditio ns articulated in article 4 (b), including in contexts in which such organizations use nationalist populist fervour to attempt to mainstream their extreme ideologies or racial, ethnic or religious hatred and intolerance. Under the Convention, legislation c ombating racist expression alone is not sufficient. Article 6 makes clear that effective protection from and remedies for racial discrimination are just as important as formal provisions. 55. Unfortunately, sometimes Member States use concerns about racist or intolerant speech as a pretext for illegitimately quashing expression that is compliant with human rights. In this regard, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has observed with concern that “broad or vague restrictions on freedom of speech have been used to the detriment of groups protected by the Convention”. The Special Rapporteur endorses the Committee’s strong position that “measures to monitor and combat racist speech should not be used as a pretext to curtail expressions of protest at injustice, social discontent or opposition ”. 79 Overly broad defamation and slander laws that target minority religious groups, political opponents, academics, human rights defenders or others appropriately exercising their freedom of expression should not be tolerated. The Special Rapporteur also strongly condemns attempts by public and private actors to co -opt the language of equality and non-discrimination as a means of stifling legitimate expression. Similarly, the Special Rapporteur also condemns attempts by public and private actors to use the language of freedom of expression as a means of or cover for violating the rights of others to equality and non-discrimination. 56. The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination highlights that, although article 4 has operated as the principle vehicle for the prohibition of racist speech, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination contains other provisions essential for fulfilling the objectives articulated in article 4. Article 4 expressly invokes article 5, which guarantees the right to equality before the law and the right to be free from racial discrimination in the enjoyment of rights, including freedom of expression. Article 6 requires effective remedies for violations of rights enshrined in the Convention, as indicated above, and article 7 underscores the importance of education in promoting equality and tolerance. Education that seeks to undercut the racist effects of nationalist populism should include accurate and representative accounts of national history that give voice to racial and ethnic diversity, and that expose the untruths of those who attempt to write minorities out of national histories and identities in order to sustain ethno -nationalist myths of racially or ethnically “pure” nations. 57. The Durban Declaration and Programme of Action condemns the persistence and resurgence of neo-Nazism, neo-Fascism and violent nationalist ideologies based on racial or national prejudice. 80 It also condemns political platforms and organizations based on doctrines of racial superiority and related discrimination, as well as legislation and practices based on racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, highlighting that they are incompatible with democracy and __________________ 78 79 80 18-12945 Human Rights Committee, general comment No. 34 (2011) on the freedoms of opinion and expression, paras. 22–25 and 33–35. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, general recommendation No. 35 (2013) on combating racist hate speech, para. 20. See A/CONF.189/12 and A/CONF.189/12/Corr.1, chap. I, para. 84. 19/22