A/HRC/4/19/Add.3 page 26 concerned, as well as religious, intellectual and artistic personalities reflecting the diversity of the country, to collect data on manifestations and expressions of racism and xenophobia, analyse their deep root causes and formulate a national programme of action against racism and xenophobia. 83. The Government should also consider the establishment of an independent body at Federal level aiming at the promotion and protection of human rights and the combat against racism, xenophobia and discrimination in a holistic manner, including discrimination on grounds of race, religion, ethnicity, nationality, citizenship, residence, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation and any other status. The composition of this body, whose work would be supported by regional branches, should be representative of the diversity of Russian society, with its members being appointed by Parliament on the basis of proposals presented by the Government, civil society organizations and cultural, religious and linguistic communities. This body would work in close cooperation with relevant State and civil society actors, in particular the Office of the Ombudsman and regional ombudsmen, and should be given administrative, legal and normative powers to investigate acts of racism and discrimination and provided with adequate human, material and financial resources. 84. The Government should determinedly continue to reinforce legislation aimed at combating racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia, both at criminal and civil and administrative law levels. Particularly important is to explicitly prohibit racial discrimination, in line with article 1, paragraph 1, of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, in constitutional, civil and administrative legislation, using a clear and comprehensive definition of discrimination. Issues related to immigration, asylum and the situation of foreigners should be treated on the basis of the pertinent international instruments and not only on the basis of the security dimension and the combat against terrorism. The Special Rapporteur also encourages the revision of the law of 2002 on “Counteracting Extremist Activities” with a view to more clearly defining its scope. 85. Strengthening of legislation should be accompanied by the continuation and reinforcement of current efforts in the implementation of adequate existing provisions in order to send a firm message of unacceptability to the perpetrators of racist and discriminatory practices, xenophobic violence and hate speech. These efforts should include the strengthening of the capacity of the judiciary and law enforcement agencies, particularly the Office of the General Prosecutor, to effectively implement the Criminal Code provisions against perpetrators or racist attacks, especially through adequate training on the content of international human rights law instruments - in particular the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination - and existing national laws. 86. Acts of racism and intolerance against foreigners, and in particular students, human rights defenders, witnesses in criminal investigations, intellectuals and activists engaged in