A/62/306 for all old and new forms of racism and xenophobia, from anti-Semitism to Islamophobia, and serving to justify incitement to racial or religious hatred. 13. This discourse is taking a particularly serious turn with the growing expression by elites of racism and xenophobia, the major manifestations of which are based on an ethnic and racial interpretation of social, economic and political events and violent and polemic verbal responses to any expression of ethnic or religious multiculturalism in the societies in question. By its current resurgence, racism on the part of elites confirms the essential role of identity constructs both in the origin and in the development of all forms of racism, both old and new, and the urgent need to mount a real intellectual front against racism. This identity backlash on the part of elites in turn encourages racist and xenophobic platforms, strengthens the ideological and political initiative of the nationalist or extreme right-wing parties and movements that promote them, and forms part of a dangerous drift towards a clash of civilizations and religions. 14. In this context, while anchoring efforts to combat racism and xenophobia in the legal framework of human rights is a fundamental way of achieving progress and expressing the universality of those rights, it is not sufficient on its own to eliminate the root causes of discriminatory culture and mentalities. The new battlegrounds in the struggle against discrimination — identity constructs, value systems, images and perceptions — require that legal strategies to combat racism be accompanied by an ethical and cultural strategy to identify and combat the root causes of old and new manifestations of racism and xenophobia and to promote the link between efforts to combat racism and xenophobia and the construction over the long term of an egalitarian, democratic and interactive multiculturalism. III. Activities of the Special Rapporteur 15. The Special Rapporteur’s activities are underpinned by a number of considerations central to his mandate: basing national and international efforts to combat racism on the promotion and implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action; encouraging the development of effective political, legal and cultural strategies for identifying and eradicating the root causes of old and new forms of racism and xenophobia; and promoting the link between efforts to combat racism and xenophobia and the construction, over the long term, of an egalitarian, democratic and interactive multiculturalism based on respect for the cultural diversity of national communities and minorities and the promotion of interactions among these communities. 16. The Special Rapporteur’s activities are categorized as follows: reports submitted to the Human Rights Council at its fourth and fifth sessions, coordination with other human rights mechanisms, participation in various meetings and conferences, racism in sports, and field missions. A. Reports submitted to the Human Rights Council at its fourth and fifth sessions 17. The Special Rapporteur wishes to inform the General Assembly that the reports he submitted to the Human Rights Council at its fourth and fifth sessions 6 07-49048