A/HRC/7/19/Add.4 page 23 82. Lithuania has a strong heritage of multiculturalism that stems from the multi-ethnic Grand Duchy of Lithuania and continues to exist today. State authorities and civil society alike should build on these plural traditions to strengthen all actions against racism and discrimination and to promote a democratic multiculturalism that includes new minorities into Lithuanian society. 83. The Government should take steps to complement the existing legal framework with measures that would fill the protection gaps that still exist. In particular, the Criminal Code should be amended to introduce a provision that makes committing an offence with a racist motivation or aim an aggravating circumstance, allowing for a more severe punishment for perpetrators of these acts. 84. The Government should also strengthen the capacity of the Office of the Ombudsperson on Equal Opportunities to thoroughly investigate and act on allegations of racist crimes, incitement to racial hatred and all forms of racial and ethnic discrimination. 85. The Government should develop best practices and general guidelines for the prosecution of cases of incitement to racial hatred, developing clear criteria for the threshold of evidence that is required to be presented and for the investigative conduct of law enforcement conditions. Whilst developing these guidelines, the Special Rapporteur recommends that the Government fully apply the prohibition to incite racial, religious or ethnic hatred established by article 25 of the Constitution, article 20 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and article 4 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. 86. As already pledged by a number of State authorities, including in the discussions of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Lithuania should proceed to make the voluntary declaration under article 14 of the Convention to recognize the competence of that Committee (CERD) to receive and consider individual communications of violations within its jurisdiction. 87. The Government should also develop comprehensive programmes of multicultural training and qualification in public institutions, particularly for law enforcement officials. 88. The role of the Department of National Minorities and Lithuanians Living Abroad should be strengthened, both in terms of mandate and resources. The Department should expand its activities to promote cultural expressions of minority communities and rely on its distinctive vision of multicultural integration. In particular, besides working with traditional minorities, the department should be given the capacity to have a more specific focus on new religious and ethnic communities and their integration into Lithuanian society. 89. As an integral part of the focus on new minorities, the Government should engage in efforts to prevent the emergence of Islamophobia as well as discrimination and prejudice against other religions, particularly those that were not historically present in Lithuania.