E/CN.4/1996/72 page 3 Introduction 1. This report is submitted in compliance with resolution 1995/12 of 24 February 1995 in which the Commission on Human Rights requested the Special Rapporteur to continue to examine in accordance with his mandate incidents of contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, any form of discrimination against Blacks, Arabs and Muslims, xenophobia, negrophobia, anti-Semitism and related intolerance, as well as governmental measures to overcome them, and to report on those matters to the Commission at its fifty-second session. 2. The Commission also requested the Special Rapporteur to continue his exchange of views with the relevant mechanisms and treaty bodies within the United Nations system in order further to enhance their effectiveness and mutual cooperation. It also called on all Governments, intergovernmental organizations and other relevant organizations of the United Nations system, as well as non-governmental organizations, to supply information to the Special Rapporteur. I. A. RECENT ACTIVITIES OF THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR Participation in the work of the fiftieth session of the General Assembly 3. At the request of the Commission, the Special Rapporteur participated in the work of the fiftieth session of the General Assembly during which he submitted a substantial report (A/50/476). It will be sufficient to mention that, for the first time since the end of apartheid, following the statement by the Special Rapporteur on the situation of racism and racial discrimination, the General Assembly opened a substantive debate on those matters and numerous representatives of Member States of the United Nations voiced their concern over racism and racial discrimination and over the resurgence of xenophobia, under cover of law and legislation. 4. The General Assembly expressed its full support for the mandate of the Special Rapporteur in the resolution that it adopted at the close of the debate (resolution 50/135). B. Meeting with the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance 5. One of the tasks of the Special Rapporteur is to consult with intergovernmental bodies to prevent actions giving rise to racism and racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance (resolution 1995/12, para. 12). In that context the Special Rapporteur went to Strasbourg on 29 September 1995, to Human Rights House, where he had a working meeting with the Bureau of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance. 6. The Commission explained to the Special Rapporteur the mission assigned to it by the Vienna Summit of Heads of State and Governments of Member States of the Council of Europe in October 1993. Its main thrust concerns the strengthening of safeguards against all forms of discrimination.