A/HRC/48/77 74. Norway had adopted the comprehensive Equality and Anti-Discrimination Act in 2017 with the purpose of promoting equality and preventing discrimination on the basis of ethnicity, religion and belief. The Equality and Anti-Discrimination Ombud had been strengthened as a strong advocate of equality, and enforcement had been transferred to a new anti-discrimination tribunal, which was empowered to provide compensation in discrimination cases. 75. Norway pointed to a number of measures taken, which included the strengthening of the action plan against radicalization and violent extremism; the action plan to combat discrimination and hatred towards Muslims (2020–2023); the action plan against antisemitism (2021–2023); and the action plan against racism and discrimination on the grounds of ethnicity and religion (2020–2023). It also reported on the creation, in 2021, of a national hate crime expertise group within the police, aimed at strengthening the capacity of the police to prevent and combat hate crime. Qatar 76. The Government of Qatar reported that several laws in its constitutional and legal systems explicitly prohibited racism and discriminatory practices, including Law No. (8) of 1979, on publications and publishing, which prohibited the publication of material that would spread discord among individuals in society or incite sectarian, racial or religious strife and provided for penalties of imprisonment or fines for related violations. Article 2 of decision No. 11 of 1992, issued by the minister responsible for information and culture, regarding the foundations and rules of censorship, stipulated that regulatory bodies at the ministry of information and culture – for written, audio or other works – were not to authorize the circulation, broadcasting or presentation of material that subjected any race or ethnic group to ridicule, unless it was necessary to create a positive impression for “a noble purpose”. The Penal Code of 2004 further criminalized acts related to insulting the divine religions, insulting the divinity, insulting the prophets, and sabotaging, damaging or desecrating buildings intended for religious rituals. Republic of Moldova 77. The Government of the Republic of Moldova reported that recommendations of international human rights mechanisms on combating racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, antisemitism and intolerance were reflected in the country’s National Human Rights Action Plan for the period 2018–2022. 78. As part of the Government’s commitment to promote a zero-tolerance policy for crimes motivated by prejudice, while recognizing the special nature of those offences, a draft law on amending legislation on hate crimes and denial of the Holocaust was currently under discussion in Parliament. Multiple consultations with national and foreign experts preceded the development of the draft law; recommendations and proposals by the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and civil society organizations had enriched the consultation process. 79. Furthermore, a draft law amending the Criminal Code and Law No. 64 of 2010, on freedom of expression, had been developed to establish criminal liability for the commission of crimes that spread racism, xenophobia or totalitarian ideologies such as fascism, or denial of the Holocaust. The draft law was aimed at eliminating all forms of discrimination, and ensuring the investigation of and punishment for such behaviour. On 4 February 2021, the draft law had been adopted by Parliament in the first reading. 80. The regional project entitled “Strengthening access to justice through non-judicial redress mechanisms for victims of discrimination, hate crime and hate speech in Eastern Partnership countries”, funded by the European Union, was currently being implemented by the Council of Europe. The project included training on non-discrimination and equality for approximately 1,900 sector police officers and 625 criminal prosecution officers. 81. Additional measures had been taken in the country, including the adoption of the second action plan, for 2021–2024, on promoting the memory of the Holocaust and a culture of tolerance to combat racism, antisemitism, xenophobia and other forms of intolerance. The 13