A/72/291
Committee and international and regional sports federations, to intensify the
fight against racism in sport by, among other things, educating young people
through sport practised without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic
spirit, which requires human understanding, tolerance, fair play and solidarity.
F.
Holocaust denial, anti-Semitism and the distortion of history
91. The Special Rapporteur reiterates his absolute condemnation of any
denial or attempt to deny the Holocaust and all manifestations of religious
intolerance, incitement, harassment or violence against persons or communities
on the basis ethnic origin or religious belief. He reiterates his call for the active
preservation of the sites that served as Nazi death camps, concentration and
forced labour camps and prisons and urges States to take legislative and
educational measures to put an end to Holocaust denial. The Special
Rapporteur also recalls the responsibility of political leaders to ensure that
anti-Semitic acts and rhetoric are thoroughly investigated and properly
punished.
G.
Civil society and national human rights institutions
92. The Special Rapporteur recalls the importance of cooperating closely with
civil society and international and regional human rights mechanisms to
effectively counter extremist political parties, movements and groups, including
neo-Nazis, skinhead groups and similar extremist ideological movements (see
A/71/325). In particular, the role played by civil society in collecting
information, working closely with victims and promoting democratic principles
and human rights should be emphasized and the sharing of good practices
among all relevant stakeholders should continue. He welcomes coordination
between governmental structures and civil society in order to maximize efforts
on anti-discrimination policies, and he encourages such efforts.
93. The Special Rapporteur also calls upon national human rights institutions
to develop appropriate programmes to promote tolerance of and respect for all
and to collect relevant information in that regard. He further calls for nation al
specialized bodies and national action plans for the elimination of racism,
racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance and for those bodies
to closely monitor the phenomenon of Nazism, neo-Nazism, anti-Semitism and
Holocaust denial.
H.
Role of the media
94. The Special Rapporteur wishes to stress the positive role played by the
media in combating the spread of extremist ideas, in particular in combating
stereotypes, promoting a culture of tolerance and playing an integrative role by
providing space for ethnic minority groups to also have their voice heard.
I.
Statistics and disaggregated data
95. The Special Rapporteur reiterates his recommendations made in previous
reports concerning the need to collect disaggregated data and statistics on
racist, xenophobic, anti-Semitic and homophobic crimes in order to identify the
types of offences committed, the characteristics of the victims and of the
perpetrators and whether they are affiliated with an extremist political party,
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