A/HRC/7/19/Add.4 page 3 − The Government should take steps to complement the legal framework that is in place with measures that 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; − The Government should extend and reinforce its National Programme for the Integration of Roma in the Lithuanian Society, aiming at both promoting and respecting their cultural identity and at eradicating their social and economic marginalization, in particular poor housing conditions, the high number of dropouts and poor achievement of Roma children at school, and the difficulties that the Roma have in accessing employment. The programme should also have a strong component that focuses on non-Roma citizens, sensitizing Lithuanian society at large to Roma history and traditions, in order to eliminate the stigma and negative stereotypes with which the Roma are recurrently associated; − Civil society in Lithuania should further strengthen and reinforce its monitoring role for human rights violations, particularly in the realm of racism and discrimination. In particular, NGOs should strive to offer victims legal counsel and access to national and international institutions, including those at the regional level; − In parallel with a political and legal strategy, the Government should adopt an ethical and cultural strategy that addresses the deepest roots of racism, xenophobia and intolerance and is built around the promotion of reciprocal knowledge of cultures, values and the dynamics of interactions and living together among the different communities.