A/HRC/9/7 page 16 55. The responses also made reference to provisions in national constitutions, laws and regional instruments that define limits to freedom of expression in cases where speech is deemed to provoke or incite religious hatred and violence. Reference was made to article 20 (2) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which prohibits the advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence, and article 4 of the International Covenant on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. The Islamic Republic of Iran submits that freedom of speech entails duties and responsibilities and is subject to limitations under the above provisions. Under the criminal code of Mauritius, stirring up racial hatred is a criminal offence. For Turkey, it is an offence under the penal code to publicly provoke hatred or hostility against a social, religious or racial section of the public, among others, and thus create a “clear and imminent” danger to public security. 56. Referring to the European Convention on Human Rights, the Council of Europe reported that the guarantee of freedom of expression in article 10 of the Convention does not protect hate speech, speech that incites hatred or violence, and discrimination against a specific group of individuals on ethnic, national, religious, sexual orientation or other grounds. The Council pointed out that the European Court of Human Rights had accepted limitations to article 10, if such limitations are justified by “pressing social needs” and is designed to provide protection against offensive attacks on matters that are considered sacred by a religious group. E. Desecration, vandalism and destruction of religious buildings and symbols 57. Several States referred to specific provisions in national laws that are intended to protect places of worship, property, cemeteries and religious symbols. Some of the laws in question link the protection of places of worship and religious symbols to freedom of religion as essential to the freedom to practice religion. The penal code of Egypt punishes the destruction, vandalism or desecration of religious buildings, sites and symbols, cemeteries and graves, as well as hindering religious ceremonies. In Turkey, the penal code makes it a criminal offence to soil, damage or destroy places of worship and cemeteries. F. Defamation of religions 58. Some of the States made specific reference to the notion of defamation of religions, while others seem to confine their responses to the incitement of hatred and violence. Among the countries that specifically mentioned defamation, defamation of religions is used in different contexts and sometimes in relation to other concepts, interchangeably. For Mauritius, the criminal code outlaws “outrage on religious worship” and “outrage against public and religious morality”, while for Turkey it is an offence under the penal code to “attack” or “impugn” a person’s “honour, dignity or prestige” on, inter alia, a matter that is deemed “sacred to that person’s religion”, or to publicly “degrade” the religious values of a section of the public on the grounds of religion, social class, gender, and so on. In the case of Egypt, with regard to State-approved religions, it is an offence under the penal code to print and publish distorted religious texts or to publicly “mock and ridicule” religious ceremonies.