A/62/306 include a general report on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance (A/HRC/4/19) and an updated study on political platforms which promote or incite racial discrimination (A/HRC/5/10). The reports on his visits to Switzerland (A/HRC/4/19/Add.2), the Russian Federation (A/HRC/4/19/Add.3) and Italy (A/HRC/4/19/Add.4) are discussed in the section of the present report concerning field missions. 18. In his general report (A/HRC/4/19), the Special Rapporteur drew the Council’s attention to the persistence of the following significant trends in contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance: the resurgence of racist and xenophobic violence targeting members of ethnic, religious or cultural communities or national minorities; the criminalization of and the exclusively security-based approach to immigration, asylum and the status of foreigners and national minorities; the general increase in the defamation of religions and incitement to racial and religious hatred, particularly the resurgence of anti-Semitism and Christianophobia and, more particularly, Islamophobia; the increasing importance in identity constructs of a rejection of diversity and of the process whereby societies become multicultural, which engenders strong resistance to interaction and dialogue concerning the value system and growing intolerance towards expressions and symbols of cultural and religious diversity; and, lastly, an increase, despite the efforts of national and international sports organizations, in violent manifestations of racism in sport, especially football. 19. In this connection, the Special Rapporteur drew the Council’s attention to three serious developments that tend to fuel and legitimize the resurgence of racism and xenophobia. The first development concerns the political and democratic legitimization of racist and xenophobic parties and movements, which is achieved by means of the following strategies: the electoral exploitation of the sensitive issues of identity and security, particularly in the interpretation and treatment of issues concerning immigration, asylum and the status of foreigners, which takes the form of more rigid definitions of identity, the rejection of ethnic, cultural and religious multiculturalism and the promotion, in politics and the media, of racial or ethnic interpretations of political, economic and social processes; the selective, dogmatic exploitation of freedom of expression to legitimize racist and xenophobic platforms; and the strategy of democratic legitimization of these platforms through government alliances and coalitions. The second development concerns the increase in racism among national elites, particularly the resurgence of overtly racist and xenophobic statements, commentary and publications by political, intellectual or media figures. Lastly, an especially alarming development is the rise in historical revisionism, meaning the calling into question of the truth or memory of the most serious historical manifestations of racist mass violence, such as the historical reality of the Holocaust or the attempt to dispute the characterization, inter alia by the Durban Conference, of trans-Atlantic slavery ― the historical source of the intellectual construct of anti-black racism ― as a crime against humanity, on the pretext that this idea did not exist at the time slavery was practised. In this regard, the Special Rapporteur underscores the importance of the historical dimension, meaning the task of remembering and respecting historical facts, in eradicating the root causes of racism, xenophobia and religious defamation. The Special Rapporteur dealt with this dimension, inter alia, in his report on his mission to Japan (E/CN.4/2006/16/Add.2). 07-49048 7