A/HRC/4/19 page 8 B. Follow-up on the Special Rapporteur’s visits 11. The Special Rapporteur believes that the effectiveness and objectivity of his mandate are linked to respect for two essential principles: on the one hand, his ability to provide continuous follow-up on the situation regarding racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia in countries, both for his general report on the global situation and for specific reports on countries visited and, on the other hand, direct, balanced and independent relations with Governments and civil society organizations, particularly in the spirit of the Human Rights Council’s universal periodic reviews. 12. In this context, the Special Rapporteur wishes to emphasize the need to pursue dialogue with Governments, to take account of the expectations of the communities and victims affected and to cooperate on the ground with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the United Nations system. On the basis of the ongoing nature of his mandate, which is not confined to official visits, he invites the Governments of the countries visited to provide information on the implementation of his recommendations and responses to questions raised in his reports. He also recommends that these Governments provide for the possibility and opportunity of issuing invitations for follow-up visits. He invites, moreover, the communities affected, United Nations organizations and human rights NGOs to provide information on the progress achieved and problems remaining in efforts to counter racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia in the countries concerned. 13. In order to promote follow-up visits and the implementation of the recommendations of special procedures, the Special Rapporteur suggested that the working group on the review of mandates of the special procedures consider including in the Council’s programme of work, every two or three years, an item on follow-up visits, based on the reports of Governments and civil society organizations of the countries visited. He believes that the absence of institutional follow-up mechanisms is one of the greatest shortcomings of the special procedures, in that it favours the non-implementation of their recommendations and may ultimately negate the effectiveness of these procedures. 14. In this context, the Special Rapporteur welcomes the statement made by the delegation of Japan during the interactive dialogue following the presentation of his interim report to the sixty-first session of the General Assembly, in which the Japanese Government, emphasizing the key role of education as a tool to combat racial discrimination and xenophobia and the importance of promoting mutual understanding and a fair interpretation of history, announced that contacts that had been made with a view to developing historical research programmes with China and the Republic of Korea. The Special Rapporteur welcomes this initiative, which is fully in keeping with the spirit and the letter of one of the main recommendations of his report on his visit to Japan, in which he suggested that, in order to settle the historical dispute between Japan and its neighbours, in particular China and the Republic of Korea, which was a root cause of discrimination against the communities of nationals from those countries in Japan, a general history of the region should be drafted, in cooperation with the countries of the region and under the guidance of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), similar to the general histories written about Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean or Central Asia. This joint undertaking to produce a scholarly history of the region is part of