Promotion of pluralism, diversity, and tolerance and combating discrimination 50. In 2015, Myanmar supported 13 recommendations calling for the promotion of religious and ethnic tolerance, dialogue, and diversity, and noted 33 recommendations calling for the ending of discrimination, reforming discriminatory legislation, combating intolerance, and promoting the rights of minorities.91 The government supported one recommendation to increase its efforts to combat hate speech and incitement to violence, while noting another recommendation to prohibit and prosecute hate speech and discriminatory practices that incite violence towards minorities, and to grant equal rights to minorities in Rakhine States.92 51. The proliferation of hate speech, including advocacy of hatred constituting incitement to violence, directed against the Rohingya and other Muslim communities in Myanmar has been linked to the Myanmar military’s operation against the Rohingya in Rakhine State in mid-2017.93 In its 2018 report, the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar concluded that the Myanmar authorities ‘fostered a climate in which hate speech thrives.’94 Since 2012, more than 100 mosques have been shut down as a result of communal violence. 95 52. The response of the Myanmar government to the proliferation of hate speech, discrimination and incitement to violence in Myanmar has been halting at best and at times has directly contributed to the problem. While officials have made broad statements supporting tolerance and harmony, 96 authorities have, at times, actively participated in campaigns to deliberately spread disinformation concerning the Rohingya. In December 2016, the Information Committee in Aung San Suu Kyi’s office issued a press release dismissing reports of sexual violence against Rohingya women as ‘rumours’ under a banner stating ‘Fake Rape’.97 The same office has repeatedly dismissed reports of human rights violations as ‘fake news’, often posting photos of weapons purportedly captured from Rohingya militants and the bodies of alleged victims of their attacks. Some of the photographs shared by the Information Committee in order to advance the narrative that Rohingya villagers were burning their own homes have been shown to have been staged.98 53. Dehumanizing language has also been used by government officials. In October 2016, a member of an official state-level commission investigating the Rakhine State crisis denied reports of rape by military personnel, telling a BBC reporter that soldiers would not want to rape Rohingya women because they are ‘very dirty [and] have a very low standard of living and poor hygiene.’99 Further, since 2015, high 91 143.23 (Russian Federation)(supported); 143.24 (Slovenia)(supported); 143.89 (Sudan)(supported); 143.90 (Malaysia)(supported); 143.91 (Turkey)(supported); 143.92 (China) (supported); 143.93 (Republic of Korea)(supported); 143.94 (Indonesia)(supported); 143.27 (Ethiopia)(supported); 143.25 (Holy See)(supported); 143.60 (Nepal)(supported); 143.61 (Ecuador)(supported); 143.62 (Sweden)(noted); 143.63 (Japan)(supported); 145.50 (Djibouti)(noted); 145.51 (Egypt)(noted); 145.65; 144.47 (Mexico)(noted); 144.48 (France)(noted); 144.49 (Nigeria)(noted); 144.51 (Algeria)(noted); 144.85 (Oman)(noted); 144.86 (Portugal)(noted); 145.10 (Austria)(noted); 145.13 (Turkey); 145.19 (Canada); 145.20 (Germany); 145.21 (Australia); 145.14 (Lithuania)(noted); 145.15 (Denmark)(noted); 145.16 (Uruguay)(noted); 145.17 (Italy)(noted); 145.18 (Czech Republic)(noted); 145.30 (Slovenia); 145.54 (Turkey)(noted); 145.41 (Pakistan)(noted); 145.55 (Iceland)(noted); 145.56 (Saudi Arabia)(noted); 145.57 (Canada)(noted); 145.58 (Slovenia)(noted); 145.59 (Mexico)(noted); 145.60 (Malaysia)(noted); 145.61 (Saudi Arabia)(noted); 145.62 (Australia)(noted); 145.63 (Netherlands)(noted); 145.64 (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland)(noted); 145.65 (Sweden)(noted); 145.66 (United States of America)(noted). 92 143.62 (New Zealand)(supported); 145.12 (Norway)(noted). 93 Human Rights Council, ‘Report of the independent international fact-finding mission on Myanmar,’ UN Doc A/HRC/39/64, 12 September 2018, para 73. 94 Ibid. 95 Khin Myat Myat Wai, Myanmar Times, Muslims seek reopening of 100 mosques across country, available at: https://www.mmtimes.com/news/muslims-seek-reopening-100-mosques-across-country.html. 96 See, e.g., ‘We cannot let ethnic or religious differences become an excuse to revert to authoritarianism,’ New Light of Myanmar, 17 July 2013. 97 Information Committee, State Counsellor Office, ‘Information Committee refutes rumours of rape’, 26 December 2016, available at: https://www.statecounsellor.gov.mm/en/node/551. 98 ‘‘Proof’ of Rohingya-set fires in Myanmar fails inspection,’ Associated Press, 12 September 2017. 99 Nikhil Kumar, ‘Reprisals, Rape, and Children Burned Alive: Burma's Rohingya Speak of Genocidal Terror’, Time, 12 December 2016, available at: https://time.com/4596937/burma-myanmar-rohingya-bangladesh-refugees-crimes-againsthumanity/. In September 2017, a Rakhine State minister made a similar claim regarding rape allegations. Lucy PashaRobinson, ‘Rohingya Muslim crisis: Burmese colonel dismisses ethnic cleansing claims, asking 'who would want to rape 12