A/62/306 42. The Special Rapporteur participated in many debates and seminars on combating the defamation of religions and promoting tolerance, in particular the High-level Conference on Combating Discrimination and Promoting Respect and Mutual Understanding, organized by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Bucharest on 7 and 8 June 2007. This Conference, which brought together delegations from participating OSCE States and NGOs, provided an opportunity to assess the impact of practical measures to combat intolerance and discrimination. In his statement, the Special Rapporteur drew participants’ attention to the resurgence of Christianophobia, citing a number of cases of discrimination against Christian communities in various parts of the world. While stressing the universality of the root causes of all forms of defamation of religion, he identified certain factors peculiar to Christianophobia, in particular its deep historical roots, the assimilation and reduction of Christianity to the West, its political and historical expressions and images, and the effects of proselytization by certain evangelical movements. 4. Racism in sports 43. In his previous reports to the General Assembly, and to the former Commission on Human Rights, the Special Rapporteur devoted particular attention to the question of the resurgence of racist incidents in sports. He believes that, by virtue of its persistence, this phenomenon, which remains more than ever, a contemporary issue, particularly in the world of football, warrants extreme vigilance and close cooperation by the General Assembly, the Human Rights Council and national and international sports federations. He reiterated the need to tie sanctions and penalties for all manifestations and expressions of racism to an educational and cultural strategy and, in particular, to promoting the values of mutual respect and fair play over the nationalism and commercialism that prevail in competitive sports. In keeping with the measures adopted by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), all actors in the world of sports should be encouraged to take responsibility: individual athletes, directors and coaches, fans, the media and political leaders. 44. Among the most recent initiatives against racism in sports, the Special Rapporteur welcomed, in particular, the “90 minutes for Mandela” match of 18 July 2007, organized in Cape Town (South Africa) by FIFA in cooperation with the South African Football Federation, the Nelson Mandela Foundation and the International Federation of Professional Football Players. On this occasion, football stars symbolically participated in Nelson Mandela’s eighty-ninth birthday celebration by voicing their strong opposition to all forms of racism in sports. The Special Rapporteur hopes that similar initiatives will be organized throughout the preparations for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. 45. Lastly, he hailed the actions to combat racism and discrimination which the Union of European Football Associations is planning for Euro 2008 in Austria and Switzerland. He welcomed, in particular, the statements made by the Union’s leaders, who stressed the unacceptability of manifestations of racism and the incitement of racial hatred and, at the same time, their desire to make Euro 2008 a showcase for combating racism in football. 14 07-49048