A/HRC/31/74 with the participation of National Councils for Equality. These councils were established through a law, which was adopted in May 2014. 48. On 16 July during the 8th meeting, the representative of Guatemala presented the national experiences of the country with regard to issues, challenges and best practices pertaining to reporting under the ICERD Convention. In 1982, Guatemala adopted ICERD and consequently approved a number of measures to implement the Convention. The representative said that one event stood out since the adoption. After 36 years of conflict, a peace agreement was signed in 1996, opening new possibilities such as the promotion of indigenous peoples` rights. Those rights have never been an impediment to progress, however were an integral part of the country’s culture. 49. Guatemala created a presidential commission that furthered indigenous rights and an “Academy for Mayan languages” as well as other institutions that strengthen indigenous culture and rights. At the executive level a department for indigenous affairs was set up as well as a state policy to ensure the creation of a pluralistic state. Despite the progress, further actions needed to be undertaken including addressing the challenge of harmonizing national and international legislation. 112. Guatemala had now presented its 14th and 15th report to CERD and had been complying with the reporting commitment and had organised a national mechanism to follow up on recommendations. The mechanism involved a number of stakeholders such as business and civil society. Guatemala also found other mechanisms useful, such as the UPR review. Guatemala had much relied on OHCHR support in the past, as the Office was very active in the country. This contribution from the Office was much appreciated. 50. The Ambassador of Pakistan also briefed the Ad Hoc Committee on its national experiences with regard to issues, challenges and best practices pertaining to reporting under the ICERD Convention during the 8th meeting. Pakistan had presented its consolidated 15 to 20 periodic reports in 2009. The 21st report would be submitted shortly and would also be disseminated online. The report had been prepared with the involvement of a variety of stakeholders. He added that distinctions and groupings in Pakistan existed mainly on religious and linguistic grounds and that racial discrimination was nearly nonexistent. However, due to terrorism ethnic and religious minorities might face discrimination. The country’s legal framework guaranteed equality and there were several provisions prohibiting discrimination in the constitution. Pakistan briefed on the legal framework and also referred to the regulations for media and broadcasting companies which prohibited discrimination on a number of grounds. 51. Pakistan had also taken positive measures to support minorities and promote intercultural exchange, such as educational measures, awareness raising and special commemorative and religious festive days. The Ambassador stated that the judiciary was also concerned with upholding equality, and that the courts had handed down a number of judgements on hate speech. Decency, morality and Islam were cited as reasons to forbid speech. The Ambassador stated that media was also active in fighting discrimination and extremism, and the social media played an important role in promoting national harmony. 52. Pakistan was currently finalising an action plan for national minorities, which included a number of measures such as human rights education, and social safety nets as well as prohibitions on hate speech. Pakistan made endeavours to implement ICERD but faced a number of challenges so the biannual reporting timeframe could not be fulfilled. The periodicity of reporting should be reviewed. Pakistan also faced a challenge as it only reported to the CERD on the grounds of religious hatred, which was not fully appreciated by Committee. However, race, the Ambassador stated, did not exist in Pakistan. He continued that the scope of ICERD was too limited and therefore there should be an additional protocol to ICERD covering additional and contemporary forms of racism. The 29