E/CN.4/2000/16/Add.1 page 8 23. The Government says, however, that the law has become more strict since 1 September 1995. Racist motivation has been included in the definition of several offences, such as murder, violence causing death, mutilation or incapacity for work, blackmail or damage to property - leading to such offences being more severely sanctioned. Similarly, harsher penalties apply to offences involving racism and xenophobia, including defamation of the nation or race and incitement to racial hatred. C. The Ústi nad Labem wall 24. The case of the Ústi nad Labem wall clearly illustrates the tensions between the Roma and the majority population. In the autumn of 1997, the district of Nestemice and the municipality of Ústi nad Labem started planning to build a four-metre high wall to separate housing inhabited for the most part by Roma (30 families, i.e. 130 persons living in two blocks of flats) from that of the non-Roma inhabitants of Maticni Street, who lived in four houses on the other side of the street. Originally, the wall was supposed to have a single opening, which would have impeded the free passage of the Roma inhabitants, while the existing barrier has two openings. The municipality and the district council justified the measure on the grounds of neighbourhood problems between the two groups of residents: Roma children allegedly were too noisy until late at night; Roma families who lived off the recycling of old goods had piled up large quantities of unusable objects; some Roma reputedly took drugs and practised drug-dealing; non-Roma residents were said to have been attacked by the Roma, while the latter complained that they had been insulted by the former. Efforts at reconciliation led to the place being cleaned up but did nothing to remove tensions. 25. The Czech Government stated that it regarded the municipality’s plan as both serious and disquieting; the project was a breach of human rights, above all of human dignity and the equality of individuals before the law without regard to social origin, membership of an ethnic group or wealth. The Government asked its human rights delegate to negotiate with the municipality to ensure that the human rights of the Roma were strictly respected. It wanted to be informed of the results of those negotiations before the wall was started. It would then consider the various viewpoints before it undertook the necessary legal steps to annul the municipality’s decision in the event that plans to build the wall appeared to be going ahead. 26. The Roma residents, who set up the Romská duha (Roma rainbow) association, along with other Roma associations and human rights organizations, put pressure on the municipal authorities and the district council by bringing the wall project to the attention of the media. A petition containing 300 signatures was sent to the Government. 27. Despite the reservations expressed by the Government and Roma opposition, the municipality and district council on 15 September 1998 maintained their decision to build the wall, but decided to lower it to 1.8 m and make provision for three openings, claiming that the wall was for soundproofing purposes. As a result, after negotiations with the local authorities, the local government representative or district Director (the equivalent of a prefect) suspended the decision of the municipality and district council on 29 June 1999 for infringement of article 10 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms. The decision was then submitted to Parliament, which has jurisdiction over the acts of local authorities.