A/HRC/21/27 34. Portugal observed that economic crisis had a potential to stoke racial tension and harmful nationalistic tendencies. A strong investment in education and intercultural dialogue complemented by a policy to create and sustain national awareness of the absolute value of human dignity and commitment to foster these values within national social consensus would greatly contribute to addressing prejudice. Republic of Korea [Original: English] [20 April 2012] 35. The Republic of Korea noted that although its Constitution did not specifically exclude discrimination on the basis of race, the jurisprudence of its Constitutional Court and practice had clarified that the constitutional provision against discrimination was openended and covered racial discrimination. The laws also recognized affirmative action as evidenced in article 2, paragraph 4, of the National Human Rights Commission Act. The Act also recognized certain remedies in cases of discrimination, including suspension or termination of the discriminatory act, restitution, compensation for damages and preventive measures to avoid a recurrence. The Republic of Korea did not have any specific laws for the criminal prosecution of racism and racial discrimination. As a result, such crimes were covered under related provisions of the Criminal Act, for instance, incitement to racial hatred or propagation of racial superiority is punishable under articles 307 and 311 of the Criminal Act as an act of defamation or as an act of insult respectively. Violent acts motivated by racial discrimination were punishable under chapter 25 of the Criminal Act as crimes of inflicting bodily harm and violence. Since the Criminal Act stipulated that the motive for the commission of the crime should be taken into consideration in determining the penalty for a crime, judges might consider racial discrimination as an aggravating factor when evaluating the penal consequences of a crime. 36. The Republic of Korea had taken measures to provide opportunities for foreigners in the public service through the establishment of a special recruitment process. Under article 26, paragraph 3, of the State Public Officials Act, foreigners could be appointed to political or privileged positions. In accordance with article 5 of the Local Referendum Act, foreigners aged 19 or above could also vote in local elections from the third year of acquisition of permanent residence status. The Government had established a monitoring system to respond to discriminatory practices on the grounds of race or nationality in accordance with the Basic Plan for Policies on Foreigners. 37. As recommended by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination during the consideration of its thirteenth and fourteenth periodic reports of the Republic of Korea (CERD/C/KOR/CO/14), the Government had taken measures to strengthen human rights education, stressing the importance of respecting human integrity regardless of race, colour, sex, or religion. As part of those efforts, the Government had designated human rights education and multicultural education as curricular subjects for primary and secondary education. The Government had also published and distributed teaching materials to supplement primary and secondary textbooks, helping students get a better understanding of human rights and the history and culture of diverse ethnic groups. The Republic of Korea had also expanded teacher training programmes to improve teachers’ understanding of children from multicultural backgrounds and to raise their awareness of multicultural education, including through inviting parents of multicultural backgrounds to lecture on multicultural understanding. The Legal Research and Training Institute and the Human Rights Bureau of the Ministry of Justice provide human rights training for law enforcement officers with specific focus on understanding multiculturalism and elimination of racial discrimination. 10