A/78/538 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, and also the provision of any assistance to racist activities, including the financing thereof”. 33. Pursuant to general recommendation No. 35 (2013), States parties have an obligation under the Convention to adopt legislation to combat racist hat e speech that falls within the scope of article 4. In paragraph 12 of the general recommendation, it is indicated that the criminalization of forms of racist expression should be reserved for serious cases and, in paragraph 13, specific guidance is provide d on the forms of racist expression that should be declared as offences punishable by law within national legal frameworks. Paragraph 15 of the general recommendation states that contextual factors should be taken into account when making such determinatio ns and provides relevant criteria that have been adapted from the Rabat Plan of Action on the prohibition of advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence ( A/HRC/22/17/Add.4, appendix), which will be discussed further below. In paragraph 17, the importance of the effective implementation of legal provisions is stressed, which is typically achieved through the investigation of offences and, where appropriate, prosecution. The importance of judicial assessment in determining the facts and legal qualifications of individual cases is also highlighted in paragraph 18. The general recommendation also focuses on articles 5 and 7 of the Convention. 34. The Durban Declaration and Programme of Action reinforces the relevant provisions of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. In paragraph 77 of the Declaration, it was affirmed that universal adherence to and full implementation of the Convention are of paramount importance for promoting equality and non-discrimination in the world. In paragraph 147 (e) of the Programme of Action, the rapidly evolving phenomenon of the dissemination of hate speech and racist material through new information and communications technologies was also recognized and Member States were called upon to consider a prompt and coordinated international response to the phenomenon. 35. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights bestows responsibilities on States parties to prevent and address the most serious forms of online racist hate speech. Article 20 (2) of the Covenant states that “any advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence shall be prohibited by law”. Article 20 (2) should be read in conjunction with articles 2 (1) and 26 of the Covenant. Article 2 (1) makes clear that the rights recognized in the Covenant, inclusive of article 20 (2), are to be recognized without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Article 26 provides the general right of equality, the prohibition of discrimination and an obligation to take positive measures against discrimination. 37 36. Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights protects the right to freedom of opinion and expression. The Special Rapporteur rejects the notion that preventing and addressing online racist hate speech and upholding freedom of opinion and expression is a zero-sum game, whereby advances in one area come automatically at the expense of the other. Equality, non-discrimination and fundamental freedoms reinforce one another as the cornerstones of international human rights law, democratic governance and the rule of law. Freedom of opinion and expression must, therefore, be seen as indivisible from provisions bestowing obligations on States to prevent and address online racist hate speech ( see Rabat Plan __________________ 37 12/22 William A. Schabas, U.N. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights : Nowak’s CCPR Commentary, 3rd revised ed. (Kehl, Germany, N.P. Engel Verlag, 2019). 23-20290