A/HRC/37/44
“Rabat+5 symposium”, 11 offering a platform to exchange practices and discuss concrete
“Faith for Rights” projects at the grass-roots level in various parts of the world.
H.
Adopting measures to criminalize incitement to imminent violence
based on religion or belief12
29. Argentina, Algeria, Australia, Croatia, Denmark, Italy, Mongolia, Pakistan, Portugal,
Turkey, the United Kingdom and the State of Palestine reported on comprehensive criminal
frameworks prohibiting incitement to violence based on religion or belief. These
frameworks often address issues of incitement to racial, national or religious hatred through
speech or through written media and publications, including dissemination through the
Internet. The laws generally also cover the establishment of or participation in
organizations which urge violence or incite religious hatred and public meetings in this
context, and the denial of war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity as well as
linkages between incitement and acts of terrorism.
30.
It should be recalled that where legal sanctions may be necessary to protect human
beings against incitement to hatred, discrimination or acts of violence, three types of
expression should be clearly distinguished: expression that constitutes a criminal offence;
expression that is not criminally punishable but may justify civil or administrative sanctions;
and expression that does not invoke any legal action but still raises concern in terms of
tolerance and respect for the rights of others.
31.
To be consistent with international standards on freedom of religion or belief and
freedom of opinion and expression, legislation prohibiting incitement to racial, national and
religious hatred should be specific and not overly broad in its scope and application. States
should also ensure that there is no impunity in the judicial system, and that such crimes are
prosecuted and adjudicated.
32.
The conclusions and recommendations of the Rabat Plan of Action are based on
legislative patterns, judicial practices and policies. It provides some guidance to
stakeholders, including national legislatures and the judiciary, in implementing the
international standards relating to the prohibition of incitement to racial, national and
religious hatred. It outlines a six-part threshold test for expressions to be considered as
criminal offences: context; speaker; intent; content and form; extent of the speech act; and
likelihood, including imminence (see A/HRC/22/17/Add.4, appendix, para. 29).
Hate crimes
33.
In Croatia, the Criminal Code defines hate crime as a criminal offence committed on
account of a person’s race, colour, religion, national or ethnic origin, disability, gender,
sexual orientation or gender identity. For some criminal offences, more severe sanctions are
imposed if the crimes are qualified as hate crimes; in other cases, hatred is considered an
aggravating circumstance. Less severe forms of unlawful and offensive behaviour in this
context are punishable in accordance with the Act on Public Order and Peace Offences.
34.
In Denmark, the National Police have initiated national monitoring of hate crimes to
provide knowledge about the actual extent of hate crimes and developments in the area, and
they issue an annual publication on reported hate crimes. The most recent training day for
law enforcement officers on dealing with hate crimes was held in October 2017. Such
training will be offered in the future as continuing education for law enforcement officers
from police districts in Denmark. Guidelines issued by the Director of Public Prosecutions
on the processing of cases of hate crimes applicable to both prosecutors and police officers
have recently been revised.
11
12
To commemorate the adoption in 2013 of the Rabat Plan of Action on the prohibition of advocacy of
national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence
(A/HRC/22/17/Add.4, appendix).
Paragraph 7 (f) of resolution 34/32.
7
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