A/HRC/12/38 page 7 acts shall be declared an offence punishable by law, in accordance with the international obligations of States and that these prohibitions are consistent with freedom of opinion and expression”. 15. In addition, in paragraph 68, the Conference expressed its concern “over the rise in recent years of acts of incitement to hatred, which have targeted and severely affected racial and religious communities and persons belonging to racial and religious minorities, whether involving the use of print, audio-visual or electronic media or any other means, and emanating from a variety of sources”. 16 In paragraph 69, the Conference resolved to, “as stipulated in article 20 of the ICCPR, fully and effectively prohibit any advocacy of national, racial, or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence and implement it through all necessary legislative, policy and judicial measures”. 17. In paragraph 99, the Conference called upon States, in accordance with their human rights obligations, to “declare illegal and to prohibit all organizations based on ideas or theories of superiority of one race or group of persons of one colour or ethnic origin, or which attempt to justify or promote national, racial and religious hatred and discrimination in any form, and to adopt immediate and positive measures designed to eradicate all incitement to, or acts of, such discrimination”. 18. Finally, in paragraph 134, the Conference took note “of the proposal of the OHCHR, in cooperation with regional stakeholders in all parts of the world, to organize in light of the OHCHR Expert Seminar on the links between articles 19 and 20 of the ICCPR a series of expert workshops to attain a better understanding of the legislative patterns, judicial practices and national policies in the different regions of the world with regard to the concept of incitement to hatred, in order to assess the level of implementation of the prohibition of incitement, as stipulated in article 20 of the ICCPR, without prejudice to the mandate of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Complementary Standards”. 19. The Special Rapporteur commends all delegations that were actively involved in the negotiations of the draft outcome document for their flexibility and their common interest in achieving a consensual solution. He believes that the text of the outcome document reaches a fine balance in reaffirming the importance of freedom of expression and highlighting the need to curb hate speech. In this regard, the outcome document should be seen as a building block for a new era in the international approach to the question of incitement to racial or religious hatred, offering robust and adequate language to guide policymakers in this area. 20. The Special Rapporteur also notes that the only sustainable solution to the problem of hate speech, and racism or discrimination more broadly, is to implement in their entirety the provisions of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action and the outcome document of the Durban Review Conference. Those documents offer the most comprehensive framework to guide actions at the international, regional and national levels in the common fight against racism.