A/HRC/34/35
discrimination. The Centre has signed an agreement with the Ministry of Islamic Affairs to
train imams to practise their role in spreading the culture of tolerance in society through
speeches, lectures and other activities.
60.
Saudi Arabia participated in the fifth follow-up meeting on the Istanbul Process for
Combating Intolerance, Discrimination and Incitement to Hatred and/or Violence on the
Basis of Religion or Belief, hosted by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Jeddah in
June 2015.
61.
Under the laws of Saudi Arabia, any call for religious hatred that constitutes
incitement to discrimination is prohibited. The rights enshrined in the Basic Law and other
laws can be limited by article 39 of the Constitution, which obliges the media and all means
of expression to employ “good words” and prohibits acts which offend human dignity and
rights.
62.
Royal decree No. A/44 provides for imprisonment for a term of not less than 3 years
and not more than 20 years for anyone who has committed specific acts, including
affiliation to or support for extremist groups.
Spain
63.
The Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport is preparing a strategic plan on
“school coexistence” to foster coexistence and prevent all forms of violence against
students in general and against the most vulnerable groups in particular. The plan
emphasizes prevention, detection and action in situations of harassment or violent incidents,
as necessary, to combat hate speech based on the forms of expression that promote or incite
racial hatred, xenophobia, anti-Semitism and related intolerance, including hate crimes.
64.
The school coexistence portal is an online tool with numerous resources for
educational centres, teachers, students and families, which contains information related to
the prevention of radicalism and violence through education.
65.
The regulation of hate crimes in Spanish legislation, including those based on
religion, has been extensively reformed by Organic Law 1/2015, through which the Penal
Code was modified specifically to criminalize behaviour that publicly encourages,
promotes or incites, directly or indirectly, hatred, hostility, discrimination or violence of or
against a group or any part of it, or an individual, on the basis of race, nationality, ethnicity,
or other motives related to ideology, religion or belief (art. 1).
66.
Spain emphasized the adoption of Law 4/2015 on the status of victims, which
includes a list of procedural rights and protection measures for victims of crimes committed
in Spain or that could be prosecuted in Spain, regardless of their nationality, whether they
were over the legal age or not and whether or not they were legally resident in the country.
It also relates to victims of the crimes contemplated in the action plan.
67.
The religions most firmly rooted in Spanish society take part in the Advisory
Commission on Religious Freedom, which is located within the Ministry of Justice. The
first annual report of the Commission on the situation of religious freedom in Spain,
published in 2015, refers to major policy developments in this field, to statistical data on the
recognized religions most deeply rooted in Spain and a review of the situation concerning
places of worship, burial, education, religious assistance, marriage or legal guarantees.
68.
On 1 and 2 February 2016, a workshop was held on the subject of the protection of
religious liberty and combating discrimination and intolerance based on religion and belief.
Numerous experts in the field and representatives of various religions were present.
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
69.
The Equality Act 2010 makes it unlawful to discriminate against someone because
of their religion or belief, or lack of religion or belief, which includes denominations or
sects within a religion. The United Kingdom reports that people are protected against direct
and indirect discrimination, harassment and victimization in respect of employment, the
9
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents