A/76/369 of government that create, perpetuate, and sustain ethnic and racial hierarchies. This movement also seeks to use terrorism against marginalized and excluded groups as a means of creating scapegoats for environmental problems, as well as generalized xenophobia that insists on keeping immigrants out of a given jurisdiction and holds that ethnic groups should remain in “original lands”. Eco -fascist groups focus on minorities as the cause of environmental degradation and typicall y maintain a virulent opposition to immigration and a belief that “races” should remain confined to separate places. 51. Just Atonement Inc. believes there is a risk of eco-fascist groups taking over the discourse on climate change and environmentalism. It noted that, during the course of the pandemic, hate crimes against people of Asian descent by white supremacists and neo-Nazis have risen, and such groups are creating a stereotype of a class of “subhumans” responsible for the virus and the pandemic. Just Atonement Inc. recommends further analysis and study to fully understand the scope of eco -fascist ideology and its prominence in Nazi and neo-Nazi movements. 52. Queensland University of Technology Digital Media Research Centre expressed its concerns regarding the challenges of addressing the spread of harmful content online. It stated that one of the biggest challenges of content moderation is that platforms primarily focus on the most acute and blatant manifestations of racism, to the exclusion of more common forms of racism. According to the Centre, social media platforms struggle to identify and assess racist jokes, allowing extremist groups to use humour as a veil for hate, abuse and discrimination. Extremist groups constantly alter the way they communicate online in order to avoid content moderation, including by using coded language, and often use automation, including bot accounts, to push their agendas. Extremists use technological features of social media, including anonymity and pseudonymity, to cloak their identities and incite tension. For example, extremists sometimes pose as people from racial minorities, and weaponize these identities to stoke confrontation, spread disinformation and incited hatred. Often, extremists appropriate and hijack keywords from social justice movements to manipulate search algorithms and promote extremist content. 53. In another submission concerns were expressed regarding United States Confederate memorials and memorials that seemingly pay tribute to slavery and suppression. According to the submission, Confederate memorials are frequently maintained by the Government, which means that the government actors help maintain racist expression. It was argued in the submission that one of the main mechanisms through which the fight against systemic racism in the United States can begin is the removal of Confederate memorials and memorials that glorify slavery. IV. Applicable racial equality framework 54. The Special Rapporteur recalls that international human rights law is based on the premise that all persons, by virtue of their humanity, should enjoy all human rights without discrimination on any grounds. Article 1 (1) of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination defines racia l discrimination. The Special Rapporteur reiterates that the prohibition on racial discrimination is aimed at guaranteeing substantive equality rather than a formal approach to equality. 4 States must take action to combat intentional or purposeful racial discrimination, as well as de facto or unintentional racial discrimination. __________________ 4 21-13874 Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, general r ecommendation No. 32 (2009) on the meaning and scope of special measures in the Convention, paras. 6 –10. 13/16