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Technologies Act of 2001 to incorporate offences where an individual utilized
telecommunications equipment to spread neo-Nazi or other hateful or antisemitic
ideologies.
Mexico
28. The Government of Mexico stated that it had prioritized respect for human
rights and attention to vulnerable groups throughout its COVID-19 response. It noted
that despite legislative progress, and constitutional reform in 2011, structural
discrimination persisted, contributing to some denials of rights and unequal access to
opportunities. The Government acknowledged the Department of Economic and
Social Affairs document entitled “Indigenous peoples and COVID-19:
considerations”, which declared that national governments must facilitate the medical
and social well-being of disproportionately affected indigenous communities. The
Government also cited article 1 of the International Convention on the Elimination of
All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the 2019 report of the Expert Mechanism on
the Rights of Indigenous Peoples 2 as bases for prohibiting discrimination in the
context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
29. The Government highlighted domestic legislation intended to counter
discrimination. The Government reported that those legal foundations helped to fight
all related forms of xenophobia and hatred linked to COVID-19.
30. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government had issued guidelines
for authorities and government agencies on how to address the pandemic from a
human rights perspective. For example, the human rights guide for COVID-19
measures, published by the Ministry of the Interior, prohibited denial of health care
on the basis of discriminatory factors such as financial resources, immigration status,
sexual orientation, nationality, and more. Additionally, the Ministry of Health had
published guidelines to ensure respect for human rights, to combat discrimination and
to make visible the impact of the pandemic on vulnerable groups.
Norway
31. The Government of Norway reported that an assessment by the Norwegian
Police Security Service had shown that an increased number of Norwegians were
vulnerable to radicalization in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Government
planned to respond by extending its 2016 Action Plan against Antisemitism, which
was originally scheduled to expire in 2020.
32. The Government stated that it had taken steps to prevent radicalization and
violent extremism on the Internet. It cited measure 27 of its revised Action Plan
against Radicalization and Violent Extremism, which was aimed at strengthening
preventative measures in digital contexts and developing methods of actively
patrolling the Internet. As part of the European No Hate Speech Movement, the
Government aimed to give young people and youth organizations the tools,
knowledge and skills necessary to recognize and combat hate speech and human
rights violations online. In May 2020, the Government had passed the Media Liability
Act, establishing a duty of care for editors and supporting press ethics rules.
33. In February 2020, the Government had created the Freedom of Expression
Commission to review the social, technological, legal and economic frameworks for
freedom of expression in today’s society and consider measures to promote an open,
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