A/66/313 people of African descent, Roma, members of communities based on caste or analogous systems of inherited status and ethnic minorities in general, including in the areas of education, employment, health, housing, access to citizenship, administration of justice, racial profiling as well as access to political decision-making and judicial systems. In addition, women and girls belonging to certain communities remain particularly vulnerable to exploitation, trafficking, racial abuse and violence. 63. Against this background and pursuant to the thematic issues of concern raised in the present report, the Special Rapporteur would like to make the following general recommendations which could be used by States as tools for further analysis and progress. 64. A first step to be taken to address the scourge of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance is to recognize its existence in our societies as well as in State institutions. While the Special Rapporteur is aware of the difficulty in acknowledging such a reality, he is, however, convinced that recognition is a vital first step towards ending racial discrimination. 65. States are not necessarily aware of the manifestations and the spread of racism and racial discrimination in their societies and how it impacts on the everyday life of the victims, including in terms of marginalization and social exclusion. The absence of appropriate tools to assess the situation, including reliable statistics and data, is among the reasons for such a situation. The Special Rapporteur reiterates that such data and statistics are not only needed to identify the persons and groups affected by racial discrimination, but also to better understand the nature and extent of the inequalities they face, and design targeted policies and measures that will remedy inequalities. He therefore encourages States to collect ethnically disaggregated data and to improve the quality of existing data-collection systems. Such collection must be done in consultation with the concerned groups of individuals and in accordance with international human rights standards. The Special Rapporteur also strongly recommends collecting data on racist and xenophobic crimes perpetrated by individuals closely linked to extremist political parties, movements and groups, including neo-Nazis and skinhead groups. Ethnically disaggregated data may also be an important tool to have a comprehensive picture of the structural dimension of racism and racial discrimination in countries. 66. In addition, the Special Rapporteur strongly calls upon all States Members to demonstrate further political will to prevent and combat racism and racial discrimination, and to promote further effective action to eliminate instances of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance around the world. Indeed, the elimination of racism and racial discrimination is not always seen as a priority. In this regard, the Special Rapporteur reaffirms that the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action and the outcome document of the Durban Review Conference form the most comprehensive international framework in the fight against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. He calls upon all States to bring their support to the Durban process and to effectively implement the commitments contained in those documents. He also urges the concerned States to ratify the 18 11-45818