A/62/306 grounds of the inferiority or cultural backwardness of the community that is dominated or discriminated against. 26. The Special Rapporteur also participated, at the invitation of the AntiDiscrimination Unit, in a series of activities held in Nepal with the aim of strengthening the notable field work of OHCHR in devising a long-term strategy to combat social exclusion and discrimination. Through meetings with OHCHR staff, local authorities and representatives of political parties and of civil-society organizations, as well as visits to areas whose populations are particularly prone to discrimination, the Special Rapporteur, together with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people and two Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights experts on discrimination based on work and descent, addressed, among other issues, the main problems of discrimination faced by traditionally marginalized communities: the deep historical, cultural and religious roots of these forms of discrimination, the political, economic and social marginalization of the populations affected, shortcomings in their access to justice and the judicial remedies available to them, and the denial of their economic, social and cultural rights. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the relevance and creativity of the OHCHR initiatives being undertaken in Nepal, which are intended in particular to raise the profile of human rights issues in the democratic political process and to promote, on the ground, interaction among stakeholders of all political persuasions. The Special Rapporteur stands ready to continue to cooperate in these endeavours, particularly if he is able, in the near future, to conduct an official visit to the country, pursuant to his request to the Government of Nepal more than two years ago. 27. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the cooperation launched with the five experts mandated by the Human Rights Council, in its resolution 1/5, to study the content and scope of the substantive gaps in the existing international instruments to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, and to produce, in consultation with the Special Rapporteur and other relevant mandateholders and bodies, a base document that contains concrete recommendations on the means or avenues to bridge these gaps. Accordingly, at a meeting held in Geneva on 13 April 2007, the Special Rapporteur stressed the importance of undertaking a thorough analysis of the current political and ideological context and of the disturbing rise in racism. At the political level, he referred in particular to the trivialization of racism and xenophobia through their political and electoral exploitation, which was reflected in the pervasiveness of racist and xenophobic political platforms. At the ideological level, he emphasized that the Manichean concept of the clash of civilizations and religions was becoming increasingly widespread in the thinking and rhetoric of the political, intellectual and media elites, as manifested in the rejection of diversity and a dogmatic opposition to multiculturalism. These two significant trends ultimately result, at the legal level, in the rigid hierarchical ranking, rather than complementarity, of the freedoms guaranteed under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, particularly freedom of expression and freedom of religion. In that context, he stressed the importance of making domestic legislation consistent with existing international instruments and of strengthening the national institutions responsible for implementing these instruments. 28. Lastly, the Special Rapporteur wishes to highlight the importance of his active participation in the preparations for the Durban Review Conference, to be held in 10 07-49048