A/HRC/21/27 38. As the Republic of Korea evolved into a multicultural society, the Government had pursued various cultural programmes and projects to heighten the awareness and understanding of multiculturalism. Those have focused on global, national and local audiences. Romania [Original: English] [27 April 2012] 39. Romania reported that the constitutional prohibition of racial discrimination was complemented by Government Ordinance No. 137/2000 on preventing and punishing all forms of discrimination. Additionally, incitement to discrimination was criminalized and the law allowed judicial authorities to consider racial motivation for a crime as an aggravating factor in sentencing. Emergency Ordinance No. 31, adopted in 2002, prohibited organizations and symbols with fascist, racist or xenophobic character or policies. By the same token, the Audiovisual Law No. 504/2002 prohibited broadcasting programmes, which contained any form of incitement to hatred on grounds of race, religion, nationality, gender or sexual orientation. The Government of Romania annually allocated funds in support of inter-ethnic projects aimed at combating intolerance and had supported awareness-raising initiatives through the Department for Inter-ethnic Relations. 40. Building on the experience of a decade-long initiative to improve the status of the Roma, the Government had adopted in 2011 a national strategy for improving the situation of Roma for the period 2011–2015. The strategy was implemented by the National Agency for Roma. Specific efforts to integrate the Roma had included reserved places at the Police Academy, schools and universities. 41. A critical component of the effort to develop an inclusive society is the National Strategy for Implementing Measures on Preventing and Combating Discrimination (2007– 2013) designed by the National Council for Combating Discrimination (NCCD). The Romanian political system was unique in providing a mechanism that allowed the representation of all 20 national minority groups in parliament. Law No. 14/2003 on political parties prohibited groups that propagated ideologies based on discrimination. The Code of Conduct for Civil Servants, approved by Law No. 7/2004 as modified by Law No. 50/2007, codified the principle of equal treatment for all citizens by public institutions and authorities. Additionally, the educational system was organized on the basis of respect for human rights and equal access to all without discrimination of any kind. 42. Romania also reported that its Law No. 116/2001 on the processing of personal data prohibited processing of personal data related to ethnicity except under explicit situations allowed by law. The main political parties functioned on the basis of statutes and internal regulations developed in full respect of democratic principles. Incidents of racial incitements by political parties or their officials had been criticized both internally and by civil society groups or NCCD. 43. NCCD had undertaken several public awareness initiatives, while targeted sanctions against public officials in high profile cases had added to increasing awareness of its role. Informational booklets and folders had been developed in collaboration with Romanian Football Association, Professional Football League, Press Monitoring Agency and European Roma Grassroots Organization within the framework of the annual campaigns against racism in football. 44. Romania concluded that combating racism and intolerance was the backbone of any genuine democratic society. Preventing discrimination was only possible with a comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation, efficient institutional framework and administrative and judicial mechanisms to sanction misconduct. That should be 11