A/HRC/4/19 page 12 he participated in the First European Conference on Anti-Black Racism, held in Geneva on 17 and 18 March 2006 under the auspices of the Swiss NGO Platform for Reflection and Action against Anti-Black Racism. At the invitation of the Government of Brazil, the Special Rapporteur participated in a workshop on racism during the Second Conference of Intellectuals from Africa and the Diaspora, held in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil, from 12 to 14 July 2006. The Special Secretariat of Policies for the Promotion of Racial Equality of the Government of Brazil also invited the Special Rapporteur to the Regional Conference of the Americas on the progress and challenges of the plan of action against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, held in Brasilia from 26 to 28 July 2006, and to its preparatory meeting in Montevideo, Uruguay, held from 26 to 28 June 2006. 25. On 29 July 2006, following the Regional Conference of the Americas and in cooperation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Government of Brazil, the Special Rapporteur organized an expert seminar on the issue of political platforms which incite racial discrimination. The discussions and conclusions of the seminar are contained in the updated report on the subject (A/HRC/4/44) that the Special Rapporteur will submit to the Human Rights Council at its current session. 26. Among other activities dealing with the general upsurge in racism and xenophobia and, in particular, the situation of racism and the question of integration in Switzerland, the Special Rapporteur highlights the following events: the “End racism” debate, held in Geneva on 19 April 2006 by the Swiss Youth Resources Centre on Human Rights; the “Four continents symposium” held in Neuchâtel on 26 May 2006 by the African Centre for Sociocultural Development; the presentation “Upsurge in racism and xenophobia: national and international challenges”, which he gave in Geneva on 19 September 2006 during the General Assembly of the International League against Racism and Anti-Semitism; and the talk on the subject of integration, war and countries at peace at the Lausanne Museum of Immigration on 21 October 2006. The number and variety of these meetings testify to the mobilization of Swiss civil society in the fight against racism and xenophobia. 27. At the invitation of Ms. Anastasia Crickley, chairperson of the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia, he participated in the inaugural lecture of the Department of Applied Social Studies at the National University of Ireland, entitled “Racism: Global issues, local challenges”, held in Maynooth on 17 November 2006, with the support of the National Plan of Action against Racism and the National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism. During his speech, the Special Rapporteur emphasized that the tension and identity crisis resulting from the changes taking place in societies affected by a far-reaching “multiculturalization” process, particularly of non-European origin, is one of the main causes of the rise of racism and xenophobia in societies that receive a large number of immigrants. 28. The Special Rapporteur also participated in the First International Conference on Dalit Women’s Rights held in The Hague on 20 and 21 November 2006, during which he emphasized the relevance to his mandate of addressing the question of discrimination based on the caste system. That question, which will be the subject of various activities in 2007, will be addressed in detail in his next general report to the Human Rights Council.