E/CN.4/2002/24 page 31 “Furthermore, the Council for Human Rights Protection and Promotion in the Ministry of Justice is discussing a rescue system for the victims in cases of human rights violations. The result will be announced by this summer. “Total amount of public expenditure for Dowa special measures since 1969 Years Expenditure 1969-1981 1982-1986 1987-1991 1992-1998 Total expenditure 4.96 (15.5) 3.78 (15.3) 3.87 (24.2) 1.25 (10.0) 13.86 (65.1) Central govt. 1.44 1.15 0.84 0.25 3.69 Prefecture govt. 1.08 0.78 0.68 0.26 2.79 City, town and village govt. 2.44 1.35 1.35 0.72 6.88 Note: Figures in parenthesis indicate the value in billions of US dollars.” 3. Comments by the Special Rapporteur 64. The Special Rapporteur thanks the Japanese Government for its clarification of the Dowa or Buraku question. For such purposes as may be useful, he recalls that, in accordance with article 1 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, “the term ‘racial discrimination’ shall mean any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on … descent … which has the purpose or effect of … impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field”. In his view, a question still arises about the urban segregation of the Buraku, despite the fact that there is no ethnic or racial difference between them and the rest of the population. C. Latvia 1. Communication dated 26 July 2001 containing allegations of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia against Russians 65. It has been reported that an event aimed at inflaming inter-ethnic discord was recently held in Latvia. It was a contest in which students were to write an essay on themes that openly provoked divisions between parts of the community: “Integration of aliens - an absurdity, the Russians must return to their ethnic motherland”; “Let the colonists leave the country of Latvians so as to avoid an inter-ethnic conflict”. The “best” essays were published in June in a book called “We will not concede Latvia to anyone” (Riga, Vieda Publishers). It was announced that the highest leaders of the country will receive the book as a gift. 66. Allegedly the anthology contains numerous openly racist and fascist sentences: “Aliens are the cancer tumour of Latvia”; “If the Latvia nation wants to survive it is time to free itself from a huge number of aliens”; “They do not have any right to live in Latvia, their human rights in Latvia simply do not exist”; “By developing their culture the Russians are in fact ousting the