A/HRC/18/44 16. Regarding initiatives developed by civil society organizations, the Special Rapporteur welcomes initiatives such as free legal aid for victims of hate crime, educational activities aimed at unmasking extremist ideologies in secondary schools, monitoring racially motivated crimes in football stadiums and the creation of national associations of intercultural media. Furthermore, in the absence of official data, the Special Rapporteur has noted that non-governmental organizations have played a key role in fulfilling the gap sometimes left by the State in this area by collecting, inter alia, data on hate crimes. It was stated that these initiatives have provided an estimate of the prevalence of such crimes and the possibility of assessing the impact of legislation in the area of racist crimes. 17. While good practices have been developed, challenges remain that require further efforts from States to counter extremist political parties, movements and groups, including neo-Nazis and skinhead groups, and similar extremist ideological movements. These challenges lie in particular in the protection of vulnerable groups of individuals against racist and xenophobic crimes and the protection and consolidation of democracy and human rights in general. III. Remaining challenges relating to the existence of extremist political parties, movements and groups, including neo-Nazis and skinhead groups, and similar extremist ideological movements 18. In the section below, the Special Rapporteur focuses on the two main challenges that emerged from the information he received from different stakeholders. These challenges concern (a) the protection of vulnerable groups of individuals against racist and xenophobic crimes, and (b) the protection and consolidation of democracy and human rights, challenges that were identified by the Special Rapporteur in his previous report to the Human Rights Council (A/HRC/15/45). A. Protecting vulnerable groups of individuals against racist and xenophobic crimes 19. An important feature of extremist political parties, movements and groups already highlighted by the Special Rapporteur in his previous report is their ability to blame specific groups of individuals for the insecurity and socio-economic problems experienced by the population and to incite discrimination against persons belonging to these vulnerable groups. One particular concern is that their ideologies may also go beyond racist, xenophobic and intolerant rhetoric and explicitly incite or justify the perpetration of acts of violence against certain groups of individuals. Their action may also sometimes inflame social tensions, complicate inter-ethnic relations and induce fear in the targeted groups. The information received seemed to show that vulnerable groups of individuals, such as members of minorities, Roma and Sinti, migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers, continue to be the main victims of violence and attacks perpetrated or incited by extremist political parties, movements and groups, who also often regard themselves as the only legitimate holders and guardians of the national identity of a given country. 20. In this context, the Special Rapporteur is particularly concerned to see that the preoccupation he raised in his latest annual report to the Human Rights Council (A/HRC/17/40) about attacks against Roma by extremist political parties, movements and groups, sometimes in total impunity, remain valid and accurate. Indeed, in that report, the Special Rapporteur warned about the rise of extremism, which increases Roma vulnerability to racist violence, and expressed his concern at the reported cases of assault 6