A/HRC/53/62 discrimination on any grounds. 6 By ratifying international human rights treaties, States undertake to respect, protect and fulfil the rights provided therein.7 75. The obligation to respect requires that States refrain from discrimination in law, policy or practice.8 Under article 2 (1) of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, States undertake to engage in no act or practice of racial discrimination against persons, groups of persons or institutions and to ensure that all public authorities and public institutions, national and local, shall act in conformity with this obligation.9 That article also stipulates that States parties undertake not to sponsor, defend or support racial discrimination by any persons or organizations, including those espousing racial superiority and intolerance. 76. The State’s obligation to protect persons under their jurisdiction against discrimination by all other entities necessitates that the States adopt comprehensive legislation that prohibits any discrimination and guarantees to all persons equal and effective protection against discrimination 10 or adopt other measures as may be necessary to give effect11 to the rights established under international human rights mechanisms. 12 The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has developed a guide for States on developing comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation. The guide contains the recommendation that, to be comprehensive, anti-discriminatory legislation should define and prohibit all forms of discrimination, arising on the basis of all grounds recognized under international law and in all areas of life regulated by law. The guide also contains the recommendation that anti-discrimination legislation prohibit discrimination on the basis of an extensive and open-ended list of characteristics. According to the guide, legislation should prohibit both direct and indirect discrimination, segregation, victimization and retaliation.13 77. The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights both impose prohibitions on the propagation of racist and xenophobic ideas and outlaw the advocacy of national, racial or religious prejudices that amount to incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence. Article 4 of the Convention requires States parties to adopt immediate and positive measures designed to eradicate all incitement to or acts of discrimination and to declare punishable by law all dissemination of ideas based on racial superiority or hatred, incitement to racial discrimination, as well as all acts of violence or incitement to such acts against any race or group of persons of another colour or ethnic origin. The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has provided specific guidance for States parties on 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 See also Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111), para. 1 (a). Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, general comment No. 24 (2017), para. 10; Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, general recommendation No. 28 (2010), para. 9; Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, “Statement on the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and its implications under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination” (2020), p. 2; and Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, general comment No. 6 (2018), para. 30. The Human Rights Committee has articulated the obligations of States under article 2 (1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in terms of the negative obligation to refrain from discrimination and the positive obligation to adopt protective measures. In its general comment No. 18 (1989), the Human Rights Committee makes clear that fulfilment of the rights to equality and non-discrimination requires positive action. See, respectively, Human Rights Committee, general comment No. 31 (2004), paras. 6 and 8; and general comment No. 18 (1989), para. 10. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, general recommendation No. 28 (2010), para. 9. See also Human Rights Committee, general comment No. 31 (2004), paras. 6 and 8. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, art. 2 (d), and Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, art. 4 (1) (b). International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, art. 26. Ibid., art. 2 (2). International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, art. 2 (1) (d); Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, art. 2 (a); and Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, art. 4 (1). Protecting Minority Rights: A Practical Guide to Developing Comprehensive Anti-Discrimination Legislation (United Nations publication, 2023). 15