A/HRC/14/43 chaired by traditional and administrative authorities. MINURCAT also supported initiatives aiming at facilitating an intercommunity dialogue between chiefs of certain communities who pledged to end their dispute. 46. In line with the approach adopted by MINURCAT, the Special Rapporteur is of the view that following a conflict situation dialogue involving local actors should be strongly encouraged and supported. In order to be meaningful, such dialogue should involve all relevant stakeholders of a given society. These include, inter alia, community leaders, religious leaders, civil society representatives, women and the media. 47. It is also of utmost importance to persuade the “winner” of the conflict, if any, about the necessity for the peace process to be as inclusive and open as possible in order to enable all components of the society to participate. Should the peace process be exclusive, it could in turn lead to racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. Indeed, the reconstitution of the fabric of a society needs to be undertaken through a variety of inclusive processes aimed at consolidating democracy, the rule of law and democratic governance. If not, it may give rise to tensions which may lay the ground for racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance to become deeply entrenched within society. V. Activities of the Special Rapporteur A. Country visits 48. In 2009, the Special Rapporteur sent formal requests to visit Croatia, Serbia and Singapore. In planning country visits, the Special Rapporteur takes into account the underlying principle that racism is a universal problem and therefore considers the importance of achieving geographical balance and addressing a wide range of situations of concern to his mandate. 49. The Special Rapporteur would like to acknowledge the letters of invitations extended by Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia. While he has not been able to honour these invitations yet, the Special Rapporteur hopes that he will be able to do so in the near future. The very act of inviting a mandate holder for a country visit is an expression of the State’s willingness and commitment to fight racism and to engage in a constructive dialogue with the mandate holder. 50. The Special Rapporteur would like to thank the Government of Singapore for inviting him to conduct a mission from 21 to 28 April 2010. He looks forward to engaging in a constructive dialogue with the authorities. 51. The Special Rapporteur also would like to thank the Government of the Plurinational State of Bolivia, which has accepted his request to visit the country. He plans to undertake the mission before the end of 2010. 1. Mission to Germany 52. The Special Rapporteur visited Germany from 22 June to 1 July 2009. He wishes to express his sincere gratitude to the Government of Germany for its full cooperation and openness throughout the visit and its preparatory stages. 53. In his report (A/HRC/14/43/Add.2), the Special Rapporteur observed some very positive trends within German society and political institutions regarding issues of racism. In particular, he referred to three key areas of progress in the fight against racism: (a) the reform of the legal and institutional framework to prevent discrimination, which includes GE.10-12566 15

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