A/HRC/53/62
Commission, the violence reporting centre in the Ministry of Human Resources and Social
Development, the child support line of the National Family Safety Programme and the
National Society for Human Rights, receive and follow up on complaints of hate speech.
45.
To promote tolerance and coexistence within society, Saudi Arabia has introduced
several social programmes, such as the King Abdulaziz Center for National Dialogue, aimed
at promoting the values of social peace and coexistence within society. In addition, the
Dialogue Academy for Training provides programmes for all areas of society. For example,
imams and preachers are trained in communication, dialogue and the promotion of the values
of tolerance and equality. Saudi Arabia has also provided athletes with training in sports
dialogue skills. In addition, several workshops were held to revise schoolbooks to promote
tolerance, justice, equality and the rejection of hatred and intolerance. Workshops on
characterizing evidence for combating violent extremism and on media and other cultures
were organized in cooperation with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization.
III. Submissions by other stakeholders
46.
In the present section, the Special Rapporteur summarizes the submissions received
from other stakeholders. However, she emphasizes that, in providing these summaries, she
does not endorse any information provided or endorse or confirm any allegations levelled
against specific actors.
47.
The present section summarizes the submissions by other stakeholders. The full
submissions and the supporting information are available for reference on the website of the
Special Rapporteur.
Association of Reintegration of Crimea
48.
The Association of Reintegration of Crimea reported that, since the beginning of the
military aggression by the Russian Federation in Ukraine, on 24 February 2022, the Russian
Federation had targeted the civilian population and infrastructure on a wide scale, which
amounted to war crimes and crimes against humanity under international law. The
Association reported that, in the territories occupied by the Russian Federation, the Ukrainian
language had been banned, libraries had been destroyed, Ukrainian web-based media sources
had been blocked and education had been aligned with “Russian standards”. The Association
described how, despite several calls by the international community, including the
International Court of Justice, the European Court of Human Rights, the General Assembly
and the Human Rights Council and its special procedures, the Russian Federation had not
complied with its obligations under international humanitarian law and international human
rights.
49.
The Association reported that the former Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms
of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance had noted, with alarm,
in her report to the Human Rights Council that the Russian Federation had sought to justify
its military invasion and territorial aggression in Ukraine on the purported basis of allegedly
eliminating neo-Nazism.3 The Association highlighted that the previous Special Rapporteur
had stressed that the use of neo-Nazism as a pretext to justify territorial aggression seriously
undermined genuine attempts to combat neo-Nazism. The Association also stated that the
former Special Rapporteur had denounced the use of neo-Nazism by the Russian Federation
as a pretext to justify the unlawful breach of the sovereign territory of Ukraine and its
humanitarian consequences.
3
A/HRC/50/61, para. 3.
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