A/HRC/15/45 I. Introduction 1. The present report is submitted pursuant to General Assembly resolutions 63/162 and 64/147, in which the Assembly requested the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance to prepare for the Human Rights Council a report on the implementation of the above-mentioned resolutions. In the present report, the Special Rapporteur provides an update to a previous report submitted to the Assembly (A/64/295) containing information on activities undertaken by States pertaining to resolution 63/162. The Special Rapporteur would like to inform the Council that a more detailed report, which will include contributions by States and other stakeholders, will be submitted to the Assembly at its sixty-fifth session. 2. In the present report, the Special Rapporteur addresses the human rights and democratic challenges posed by extremist political parties, movements and groups, including neo-Nazis and skinhead groups, as well as similar extremist ideological movements. He examines how these parties, movements and groups may pose challenges to the human rights principles of non-discrimination; the rights to life and to security of person; the rights to freedom of expression, assembly and association; and to democracy. II. Challenges posed by extremist political parties, movements and groups, including neo-Nazis and skinhead groups, and similar extremist ideological movements 3. The ideology and activities of extremist political parties, movements and groups, including neo-Nazis and skinhead groups, and of similar extremist ideological movements, most often rely on, either in an overt or covert manner, intolerance, discrimination, exclusion and xenophobia. As such, their persistent existence poses major challenges to a number of fundamental human rights and freedoms, but also, more generally, to democracy itself. 4. Since the establishment in 1993 of the mandate on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, mandate holders and the current Special Rapporteur have had the opportunity, through their country visits, to examine the question of extremist political parties, movements and groups. In this context, they have addressed the challenges posed by these groups to human rights, including acts of violence or discrimination based on racism and xenophobia, or incitement thereto, and have made concrete recommendations in this regard. These issues were for instance raised during country missions to the United States of America (E/CN.4/1995/78/Add.1), Brazil (E/CN.4/1996/72/Add.1), Germany (E/CN.4/1996/72/Add.2 and A/HRC/14/43/Add.2), France (E/CN.4/1996/72/Add.3), the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (E/CN.4/1996/72/Add.4), the Czech Republic (E/CN.4/2000/16/Add.1), the Russian Federation (A/HRC/4/19/Add.3), Italy (A/HRC/4/19/Add.4), Estonia (A/HRC/7/19/Add.2), Latvia (A/HRC/7/19/Add.3) and Lithuania (A/HRC/7/19/Add.4). 5. For the purpose of the present report, the Special Rapporteur would like to highlight some of the challenges posed by extremist political parties, movements and groups. These include challenges to (a) the human rights principle of non-discrimination; (b) the rights to life and to security of person; (c) the rights to freedom of expression, assembly and association; and (d) democracy. The Special Rapporteur would like to emphasize that the list of issues addressed in the report should not be regarded as exhaustive. GE.10-15022 3