E/CN.4/2002/24 page 20 ‘Countering the dissemination of racist and xenophobic materials by extreme right organizations;’ ‘Keeping and updating files of undesirable alien extremists to prevent their entry in the territory of the Czech Republic. In this connection, the police of the Czech Republic has increased its cooperation with their counterparts in neighbouring countries (Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Austria and Germany)’.” 2. United Kingdom 43. During the year 2001, the United Kingdom experienced one of its worst riots allegedly motivated by racist animosities. On Saturday, 8 July, the National Front (NF), a racist party, was planning to hold a rally in the centre of Bradford, but since it did not obtain permission from the local authorities, the rally was cancelled. The plans provoked a counter-demonstration, which was held in spite of the cancelling of the NF rally. The counter-demonstration was a peaceful event attended by some 500 people, mainly young Asian men. They were monitored by heavily-armed police. Several reports speak of a group of white people leaving a pub in the centre of town in the afternoon, shouting racial abuse. This provoked an angry response from the demonstrators. The trouble lasted for eight hours, with gangs of Asian and white youths fighting running battles with hundreds of officers; later, the riots seem to have been mainly between about 1,000 mainly Asian youths and the police. It has been reported that 200 people were injured and 36 people arrested (23 Asians and 13 Whites). Buildings and cars were burned and shops were looted in the Manningham district of the city. The chief superintendent of the West Yorkshire Police, Stuart Hyde, confirmed that 36 people had been arrested over the weekend. 44. It has been said that the over-arching problems behind the riots in Bradford seem to be deteriorating social and economic conditions, resulting in large measure from the de-industrialization of the area. This has brought poverty, unemployment and a general lack of motivation in the people living in the area. The Bradford district has a very diverse ethnic population, including one of the largest concentrations of Muslims, mostly originating from rural Pakistan. The district has been a host to many migrant communities over the years. The current “black and minority ethnic” (BME) group make up approximately 20 per cent of the population, bringing with them a rich cultural heritage and diverse religions. In the mid-1950s a large number of south Asians went to northern England to work in the textile industry and formed the base of the present-day minority. Today, only 31 per cent of Bradford’s ethnic minority young people aged 16 to 24 are employed. This compares with 40 per cent nationally and 65 per cent of young white people nationally. The district was once blessed with economic wealth and prosperity, but with the demise of the wool industry and the decline in manufacturing, prosperity has waned. The district is now trying to redefine itself as a modern twenty-first century, competitive, multicultural area and has lost its spirit of community togetherness. As a result, the Bradford district has witnessed growing divisions among its population along racial, ethnic, religious and social-class lines. 45. Relations between the different communities have been deteriorating for some time. The current Bradford scenario is not untypical - many white people feel that their needs are neglected while the minority ethnic communities receive more favourable treatment from the public