A/HRC/28/64 4 per cent anti-American Indian or Alaska Native); 17.4 per cent were motivated by religious bias (59 per cent anti-Semitic, 14 per cent anti-Islamic, 6 per cent anti-Catholic); and 11.1 per cent stemmed from ethnicity bias (53 per cent anti-Hispanic or Latino biased).3 28. In Europe, in 2008, the Fundamental Rights Agency conducted a survey of 23,500 respondents from ethnic minority and immigrant groups to assess how many had been victims of assault, threat or serious harassment with a perceived racist motive. The survey found that between 16 per cent and 32 per cent of Roma, and between 19 per cent and 32 per cent of persons of African origin reported being victims of racial discrimination. Another survey of 5,900 respondents in nine European Union Member States found that up to one third of Jewish people had experienced verbal abuse or physical anti-semitic violence.4 The Special Rapporteur considers that many incidents could be prevented with timely and appropriate responses to hateful messages, including through better representation and inclusion of minorities in mainstream communication platforms. 29. No country or society is free from hatred and it is most often those belonging to national, ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities who are the targets of hate. But what are the causes of such hatred and how does it evolve from a thought or a viewpoint to infect a whole society or result in acts of violence? This is an essential question that we must become better at answering if we are to effectively confront hatred in all its forms. 30. Hatred is often constructed, fuelled, maintained and directed by certain individuals or groups against other individuals and communities who are different, in ethnicity, language or religion from the dominant majority, often for political reasons or due to longstanding and entrenched discrimination. Hateful messages may fall on particularly fertile ground where there are wider social, economic or political problems or divisions in society. The root causes of hatred often lie beyond purely ethnic or religious difference. 31. Hatred very often stems from wider societal shortcomings, including the lack of or unequal access to resources; partisan politics; corruption; deficits in good and inclusive governance; and the reality or perception of bias and favouritism along ethnic or religious lines, which can fuel distrust, suspicion and anger. It was found that where inclusive governance, equality and human rights prevail and communities have placed trust in their leadership, there were fewer communal fractures and concerns about minority rights. 32. Governments, civil society and the international community must be alert to the warning signs of hatred and violence much earlier: when the first words of hate speech are uttered; when media start to promote negative stereotypes; or once there is an atmosphere of discomfort and animosity when minorities exercise their right to freely and openly practise their religion, use their language, or assert their right to have a voice in political life and the decisions that affect them. 33. Many States continue to lack domestic anti-discrimination and anti-hate speech laws and, even where they exist, implementation of the law is often poor and court cases are rare. States must not make quick or easy assumptions that minorities feel secure because of constitutions and laws that codify minority rights on paper. It is essential that States find ways to understand the feelings and concerns of minorities and that the required institutional attention to minority issues and consultative bodies and processes is in place. 34. The present thematic study provides an overview of the role of media in relation to hate speech and incitement to hatred and violence. It refers to the role of international standards and processes with regard to the prohibition of advocacy of national, racial or 3 4 See www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/hate-crime/2013/topic-pages/incidents-and-offenses/ incidentsandoffenses_final. See http://fra.europa.eu/sites/default/files/fra-brief_hatecrime_en.pdf. 7