A/HRC/32/49 7. As noted in his previous thematic reports to the Human Rights Council (A/HRC/23/24, A/HRC/26/50 and A/HRC/29/47), the Special Rapporteur has continued to receive information that extremist political parties, movements and groups have continued to gain influence in several countries and regions. In Europe in particular, there has been a trend of a number of local and regional parliamentary seats won by representatives of extremist political parties. The Special Rapporteur is concerned that, in some States, some mainstream political parties continue to form coalitions with extremist political parties; for this reason, he emphasizes the need for all democratic political parties to base their programmes and activities on respect for human rights and freedoms, and to condemn political messages that have the objective of fuelling racist, xenophobic, discriminatory or intolerant ideas. 8. The stigmatization and targeting of vulnerable groups, such as migrants and refugees, continues. The Special Rapporteur is concerned at the increasing tendency of political leaders to blame certain groups for high unemployment rates, cuts in social benefits and increasing poverty. Individuals of the Muslim and Jewish faiths, persons of African descent and individuals from the Roma communities continue to be singled out, stigmatized and subjected to violence, which can take the form of arson attacks on houses and the vandalizing of school property or places of worship. The Special Rapporteur also received information on threats against Muslim women wearing headscarves and physical attacks on imams at mosques. As stated in his previous reports, political leaders should take all the measures necessary to address social and economic issues in an appropriate manner, especially during periods of economic recession, to condemn strongly expressions of racism, xenophobia and related intolerance, and not to use extremist rhetoric, a practice particularly observed during electoral campaigns with a view to winning elections (see A/HRC/26/50 and A/HRC/29/47). 9. The Special Rapporteur also notes acts that, following a similar pattern, glorify Nazism, such as the painting of swastikas on monuments dedicated to victims of the Holocaust or in Jewish schools, and the desecration of Jewish cemeteries. He reiterates his condemnation of attempts by extreme right-wing groups to deny the Holocaust and to falsify history. Such revisionism contributes to the rehabilitation and dissemination of Nazism and other extreme ideologies, and creates fertile ground for nationalist and neoNazi demonstrations. The Special Rapporteur recalls the importance of criminalizing the approval, denial or belittlement of the Holocaust in national law, especially considering that such denial could promote racist rhetoric and, as such, constitutes hate speech under article 4 (a) of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. 10. As mentioned in previous thematic reports of the Special Rapporteur, racist and intolerant hate speech in political discourse has also escalated in the media, on the Internet, namely on social networks, in particular against migrants in general, including refugees and asylum seekers, in addition to individuals from the Muslim and Jewish faiths and Roma communities (see A/HRC/26/50 and A/HRC/29/47). The Special Rapporteur is also concerned that extremist movements and groups are actively present on the Internet and social media networks and publish material on their websites, or on those of sympathetic organizations, which promote and incite racial discrimination and violence and are a means of expanding their network of supporters worldwide. The Special Rapporteur also notes that, in many States, systems in place for sanctioning violations of relevant legislation relating to social media are ineffective. He notes with regret that very few cases of hate speech have been sanctioned by justice systems, and also that the conviction rate remains very low. 11. The Special Rapporteur received information regarding cases of extremism in police forces. It was reported that, in some States, members of the police force openly propagate 3