A/HRC/12/38 page 15 46. With regard to the above-mentioned reports sent to the Special Rapporteur (see paragraphs 21-24), a distinction should be made between the following four concerns: (a) intolerant mentalities which do not yet constitute human rights violations, but may eventually lead to such violations; (b) advocacy of racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence and which is prohibited in international human rights law; (c) discrimination against members of religious or belief communities which is also clearly prohibited by international human rights standards and which adversely affects the enjoyment of civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights; and (d) acts of violence perpetrated against members of religious or belief communities which constitute a blatant human rights violation, for example with regard to the right to security of the person or ultimately to the right to life. 47. The Special Rapporteur would like to reiterate his predecessor’s recommendation that the Human Rights Council invite Governments, in combating racial and religious discrimination, as well as incitement to racial or religious hatred, to fully comply with their obligations in relation to freedom of expression and freedom of religion or belief, in keeping with the relevant international instruments and in particular articles 18, 19 and 20 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and article 4 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, having due regard to their interrelatedness and complementarity. 48. In this regard, the Special Rapporteur would like to recall that existing international standards already address racial and religious discrimination, as well as incitement to racial or religious hatred. In this regard, he would like to highlight that, as of June 2009, a total of 164 States have ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and that there are 173 States parties to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. He calls upon States which have not yet ratified these international instruments to consider doing so. 49. The Special Rapporteur highlights that, while the obligation to prohibit discrimination and incitement to racial or religious hatred is unambiguous under international human rights law, this is only one among a number of actions that need to be implemented in order to fully guarantee the right to equal treatment and to fight racism and all forms of discrimination. In this regard, under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, States have a central obligation to adopt measures that will foster tolerance and respect for cultural diversity, including religious diversity. It is only by implementing this wide array of actions that States will be able to secure long-term defences against the insidious implications of hate speech. 50. Finally, the Special Rapporteur recommends that strong emphasis be put on the implementation of the core obligations of States relating to the protection of individuals and groups of individuals against violations of their rights incurred by hate speech. Cases of incitement to racial or religious hatred are of serious concern and need to be addressed promptly within the existing international human rights framework. He also would like to remind States of their obligation under existing international human rights standards to protect members of religious or belief communities from violation of their right to freedom of religion or belief. -----