A/HRC/4/19/Add.3 page 2 Summary At the invitation of the Government of the Russian Federation and in the pursuance of his mandate, the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance visited Moscow and Saint Petersburg from 12 to 17 June 2006. The purpose of the mission was to gather first-hand information on the situation of racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia in the country, in particular in the light of the information from national and international NGOs and the media indicating the existence of an alarming trend of racism and xenophobia. The Special Rapporteur concluded that while there is no State policy of racism in the Russian Federation, the Russian society is facing an alarming trend of racism and xenophobia, the most striking manifestations of which are the increasing number of racially motivated crimes and attacks, including by neo-Nazi groups, particularly against people of non-Slav appearance originating from the Caucasus, Africa, Asia or the Arab world; the growing level of violence with which some of these attacks are carried out, resulting in some cases in the death of the victim; the extension of this violence to human rights defenders, intellectuals and students engaged in the combat against racism; the climate of relative impunity that the perpetrators of such acts enjoy from law enforcement agents, despite a substantial increase, in recent months, of prosecutions and convictions for acts including racial hatred or enmity as a motivating factor; the rise of anti-Semitism as well as other forms of religious intolerance, in particular against Muslims; the existence and the increasing importance of political parties with racist and xenophobic platforms; and the virtual correspondence of the social, economic and political marginalization with the mapping of ethnic minorities and other discriminated groups in the Russian Federation. The alarming rise of racist and xenophobic violence is linked to two fundamental trends in the Russian society. On the one hand, the ideological ground of the rise of this violence is rooted in the ethnic interpretation, by neo-Nazi and extremist groups and some political parties, of the political nationalism promoted by the Russian authorities to fill the ideological void of socialism and internationalism left by the collapse of the Soviet Union. On the other hand, the deep social and economic crisis of the Russian society has nourished the political instrumentalization of the ideology of nationalism and promoted a culture of xenophobia and racism in the growing marginalized groups of the society. In this context, the dominant security approach to immigration and the growing association between ethnic and religious minorities and criminality, justified by “the combat against terrorism”, are giving legitimacy to the rhetoric and violence of racism and xenophobia. The Special Rapporteur formulates a number of recommendations, including the following: • The official and formal recognition of the existence of racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia and the expression of the political will to combat it. • The adoption of a Federal Plan of Action to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, designed in consultation and with the participation of all actors concerned, including democratic political parties, independent human rights organizations and communities concerned.