A/59/329 report on his mission to Côte d’Ivoire (E/CN.4/2004/18/Add.4). The Special Rapporteur also participated in a series of meetings and seminars. On 1 March 2004, he met with members of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, who welcomed this useful encounter. On 9 and 10 March 2004, the Special Rapporteur visited Washington, D.C., for a meeting with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and non-governmental organizations. The Special Rapporteur also took part in the first World Forum on Human Rights, organized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Nantes, France, from 16 to 19 May 2004, notably in a plenary session on globalization and the struggle against all forms of discrimination and exclusion. From 21 to 25 June 2004, the Special Rapporteur participated in the eleventh meeting of special rapporteurs, representatives, independent experts and chairpersons of working groups of the Commission on Human Rights. This report also covers the Special Rapporteur’s mission to Côte d’Ivoire, at the conclusion of which he observed that, while there is no tradition of xenophobia in the country, the current crisis has caused a split in the inter-ethnic fabric, driving the country into a dynamic of xenophobia. The Special Rapporteur therefore underlines the need for all those involved in the crisis in Côte d’Ivoire to broadcast a clear message acknowledging the risk of a division along ethnic lines and asserting their resolve to combat this dynamic of xenophobia. In addition, the report deals with the Special Rapporteur’s recent mission to Central America — to Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. In his preliminary comments on the mission, he stresses the persuasiveness of racial discrimination in this region and its deep historical roots. He also emphasizes the political authorities’ total failure to recognize this reality and the importance of elaborating a strategy to combat racial discrimination while establishing genuine democratic multiculturalism. With regard to contemporary manifestations of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, the Special Rapporteur stresses the new challenges in the struggle against racial discrimination and xenophobia, particularly the weakening of solidarity among victims. He underscores the importance of an intellectual front to combat racism, discrimination and xenophobia and the new complexity of the struggle against all forms of discrimination owing to the conflation of race or ethnicity with religion and culture. The Special Rapporteur then deals with Islamophobia, anti-Semitism and Christianophobia, as well as racism in sports and racism on the Internet, and makes comments and proposals on how to address these issues. He also outlines the measures taken by a certain number of countries to combat racial discrimination and xenophobia and, lastly, makes recommendations. 2