A/HRC/4/19 page 17 backlash is a determining factor in the dominant concept, in most regions of the world, of integration-assimilation, which negates the very existence of values and memories specific to national minorities and immigrants, thereby excluding their contribution to the value system, to history and, consequently, to national identity. 43. Both the rise of racist violence among marginal groups and the emergence of racism and xenophobia among the elite, which is of a more political and cultural nature, form part of these two aspects that underpin most current internal tensions and political conflicts. In this light, intercultural dialogue - the most effective response to racism - is above all a priority in societies undergoing profound and irreversible multicultural changes. The racism of marginal groups is increasingly taking the form of racist violence, which has been illustrated recently by the murder in Antwerp, Belgium, of a Malian woman and the young white girl she was taking for a walk, and, in the Russian Federation, the racist murders of several members of national minorities from the Caucasus region or foreign nationals from Africa, Asia and the Arab world. 44. Elitist racism, the expression of deep-seated cultural resistance to multicultural dynamics by groups whose composition does not reflect their society’s diversity, is characterized by two recent phenomena: for the past few years, by the intellectual legitimization of racism and xenophobia in literature, university research, the cinema and television and on the Internet and, more recently but increasingly, by the statements of prominent intellectuals, artists, media personalities and politicians. 45. In particular the emergence of elitist racism has been recently illustrated in France by a trend towards an ethnic interpretation of social, economic and political events and by the recycling of stereotypes and stigmas characteristic of past racist rhetoric. There are two notable examples. Georges Frêche, socialist head of the Languedoc-Roussillon regional council, having referred with impunity to the Algerian Arab harki community as “subhumans”, referred to the multi-ethnic composition of the national football team by saying, “on this team 9 out of the 11 are black. It would be normal if there were three or four. That would be a reflection of society. But if there are that many, it’s because the whites are useless …”. The political impunity and moral tolerance of such language may explain the public expression by the popular State television presenter Pascal Sevran of opinions which, because of their coarseness and advocacy of eugenics, crossed the line between tolerance and respect for the freedom of expression, on the one hand, and complacency and complicity in inciting racial hatred, on the other. Mr. Sevran, in line with his book The Privilege of the Daffodils, stated in a recent interview that “Africa is dying from all the children being born to parents who don’t have the means to feed them. I’m not the only one to say so. Half the planet should be sterilized.” Mr. Sevran crosses an even more serious boundary by recycling old stereotypes of anti-black racism, in particular their animal and sexual nature, and, even more seriously, by advocating the sterilization of black people. He endorses eugenics which, as the history of racism has shown, is the first step towards the neutralization of a community, ethnic group or race, which precedes genocide. The authorities’ silence and failure to condemn Mr. Sevran’s statements in the strongest terms is particularly serious. As part of the allegations procedure, the Special Rapporteur, at the suggestion of the Pan-African Press Association, sent a letter to the French Government