A/HRC/31/27
Council at its twenty-eighth session (A/HRC/28/72). IN her report, the Special Rapporteur
expressed her concern at learning of the progress of a package of four bills relating to
religious conversion, interfaith marriage, monogamy and population control. She urged the
authorities of Myanmar to revise or withdraw the bills, which did not meet international
human rights standards and risked entrenching discrimination against women and
minorities.
44.
In a statement delivered on 8 May 2015, at the end of his mission to Greece from 4
to 8 May 2015, the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance noted that combating hate and prejudice
was not just about financial resources and that, in times of economic crisis, blaming the
most vulnerable members of society only contributed to reinforcing a climate of hostility
and violence towards those groups and individuals. He added that more initiatives needed
to be undertaken to effectively address hate speech and verbal abuse against vulnerable
groups, including irregular migrants and minorities, such as Roma.
45.
In June 2015, the Special Rapporteur presented to the Human Rights Council a
report on racial and ethnic profiling (A/HRC/29/46). In his report, he examined the contexts
that had led to the use of racial and ethnic profiling, and provided an overview of the
different manifestations of the phenomenon by law enforcement agencies. He discussed the
legal, policy and regulatory frameworks prohibiting racial and ethnic profiling, and the
policies and laws adopted at the international, regional and national levels, and presented
different examples of good practices initiated to counter and eliminate the use of racial and
ethnic profiling.
46.
In June 2015, the Special Rapporteur also presented to the Human Rights Council
his report on combating the glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism and other practices that
contribute to fuelling contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and
related intolerance (A/HRC/29/47). In his report, the Special Rapporteur examined the main
areas of concern in which further efforts and constant vigilance were required, including
with regard to the protection of vulnerable groups of individuals against racist and
xenophobic crimes and the promotion and consolidation of democracy and human rights in
general. He also identified good practices developed by States and various stakeholders.
47.
On 12 June 2015, the Special Rapporteur on minority issues, together with the
Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, the Special Adviser on the Responsibility
to Protect and the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, delivered a statement
in which they expressed their grave concern at the ongoing threat to the safety of minority
groups in the Syrian Arab Republic, including Alawites, Armenians, Assyrians, Druze,
Ismailis and Kurds.
48.
The Special Rapporteur on minority issues presented a report to the Human Rights
Council, at its twenty-ninth session, containing a comprehensive study on the human rights
situation of Roma worldwide, with a particular focus on the phenomenon of anti-Gypsyism
(A/HRC/29/24). In the report, the Special Rapporteur found that, although the reasons for
the marginalization of Roma were complex, the overarching factor was the deeply
embedded social and structural discrimination that Roma face worldwide. She urged States
to place the rights of Roma at the heart of all strategies and policies relating to human and
minority rights, social inclusion and development, with explicit goals for Roma
communities.
49.
In September 2015, the Special Rapporteur also held a regional consultation in
Brazil on the situation of Roma in the Americas. Roma leaders and activists from many
regional States, including Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru,
participated in the consultation.
11
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