A/HRC/28/81 highlighted the fact that, without additional standards, contemporary forms of racism and racial discrimination would go unpunished, and noted the importance of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination’s general recommendation No. 15 (2004) on discrimination against non-citizens. 49. The representative of the European Union said that European Union member States were required, in accordance with directives, to establish equality bodies, which were independent organizations that, inter alia, could conduct independent surveys, publish independent reports and issue recommendations. Equinet was a European network of equality bodies comprising 38 organizations. With regard to hate speech, full respect for freedom of expression and the importance of the existing international framework were underlined. The representative referred to the 2008 Council of the European Union framework decision on combating certain forms and expressions of racism and xenophobia by means of criminal law, which included intentional public incitement to racist or xenophobic hatred or violence as an offence and required amendments to criminal law. 50. The representative of Morocco pointed out the need to control hate speech on the Internet; such control was a major concern for many States, but should not in any way detract from State efforts to combat hate speech through traditional media. Morocco had developed legal measures, including article 6 of the Constitution, which enshrined equality before the law, and a criminal code and press code. Journalists inciting hatred against foreigners were punished in Morocco. It was important to interact effectively with the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and submit regular reports. 51. The representative of the United States expressed his country’s strong disagreement with regard to restrictions on freedom of expression. He emphasized the fact that such restrictions were dangerous and that Governments should not control expression. Undemocratic Governments misused such measures. C. Special measures 52. At the 6th meeting, the Ad Hoc Committee commenced a discussion on the topic “Special measures, including affirmative or positive measures, strategies or actions, to prevent, combat and eradicate all forms and manifestations of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance”. The meeting was chaired, exceptionally, by Ephrem B. Hidug of the Permanent Mission of Ethiopia to the United Nations Office at Geneva. During the meeting, Carlos Vázquez, a member of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, gave a presentation on the treatment of special measures in the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and in the practice of the Committee. 53. At the 7th meeting, Theodore Shaw, Professor and Director of the Center for Civil Rights of the Chapel Hill School of Law, University of North Carolina, also gave a presentation on the topic of special measures. At the 8th meeting, Elisa Alonso Monçores, a researcher at the Institute of Economics, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, gave a presentation on “Affirmative actions in Brazil: recent experience and social indicators”. 54. At the 9th meeting, Dimitrina Petrova, Executive Director of the Equal Rights Trust, gave a presentation on the agenda topic. 55. For summaries of the presentations and the respective discussions with participants that followed, see annex I, section B. 11