A/73/305 withdraw their reservations to article 4 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and article 20 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. She also reiterates that “as a minimum requirement, and without prejudice to further measures, comprehensive legislation against racial discrimination, including civil and administrative law as well as criminal law, is indispensable to combating racist hate speech effectively” (see CERD/C/GC/35, para. 9). The Special Rapporteur reiterates her strong condemnation of attempts by public and private actors to co-opt the language of equality and non-discrimination as a means of stifling legitimate expression, and attempts 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. 64. Legal sanctions are only one part of a comprehensive strategy. Member States, civil society and even private individuals should also take positive measures to counter climates of intolerance. An example of the available resources on using positive measures to combat racist expression can be found in a 2018 report by Article 19, International Centre against Censorship. 87 Another example is the action taken by the European Union high-level group on combating racism, xenophobia and other forms of intolerance to adopt a code of conduct with Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter and YouTube on illegal online hate speech in May 2016. 88 In 2018, Google+, Instagram and Dailymotion announced their participation in the code of conduct. 89 65. The media also have an important role to play in tackling racist and xenophobic expression, and should observe codes of conduct that embody a substantive commitment to racial equality, which, as discussed above, is symbiotic with legitimate freedom of expression. The Special Rapporteur commends initiatives such as the Ethical Journalism Network, an alliance of reporters, editors and publishers aimed at promoting ethical journalism around five core principles: truth and accuracy, independence, fairness and impartiality, humanity and accountability. It proposes training, education and research to promote fact-based communications to help people truly understand the world around them. 90 Similarly, she welcomes the development of initiatives such as Media against Hate, a Europe-wide campaign initiated by civil society organizations and the European Federation of Journalists. 91 __________________ 87 88 89 90 91 22/22 Article 19, International Centre against Censorship, “Responding to ‘hate speech’: comparative overview of six EU countries”, 2 March 2018. See http://ec.europa.eu/justice/fundamental-rights/files/hate_speech_code_of_conduct_en.pdf. European Commission, “Countering illegal hate speech online #NoPlace4Hate”, 11 July 2018. Ethical Journalism Network, “The 5 principles of ethical journalism”, available at https://ethical journalismnetwork.org/who-we-are/5-principles-of-journalism. Article 19, International Centre against Censorship, “Self-regulation and ‘hate speech’ on social media platforms”, 2 March 2018. 18-12945