A/HRC/4/19 page 10 organizations and the affected communities on follow-up to his report and his recommendations, as well as a positive response to his request for a follow-up visit, the Special Rapporteur trusts that, in order to counter the historical legacy of racism, the appointment of Ms. Jean will be accompanied by political, economic and social policies and programmes that strengthen multiculturalism through greater promotion of reciprocal knowledge and interaction among ethnic, cultural and religious communities. C. Activities of the Special Rapporteur 17. Apart from country visits, the activities of the Special Rapporteur included, participation in various meetings with a view to strengthening coordination with other human rights mechanisms and participation in a number of conferences organized by Governments or civil society on the issues of racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia, combating the defamation of religions and promoting interreligious dialogue. Despite the amount of work involved, the Special Rapporteur welcomes the number and variety of these meetings, which attest to the remarkable mobilization of both Governments and civil society in efforts to combat racism. 18. Several fundamental objectives underpin the Special Rapporteur’s participation in these meetings: promoting and implementing the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action; encouraging the development of effective political, legal and cultural strategies, not only to redress the political, economic and social effects of racism but also to identify and eradicate the root causes of old and new forms of racism and xenophobia, in particular their politicization and their legitimization in intellectual discourse; and lastly, to promote the link between efforts to combat racism and xenophobia and the construction, over the long term, of egalitarian, democratic and interactive multiculturalism based on respect for the cultural diversity of national communities and their interaction. 19. The Special Rapporteur’s activities are categorized as follows: activities to strengthen coordination with other human rights mechanisms; participation in various meetings and conferences organized by Governments or civil society on racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia; and lastly, participation in activities to prevent the defamation of religions and promote interreligious dialogue. Enhanced coordination with other human rights mechanisms 20. In the spirit of strengthening the complementarity of their two mandates, on 17 March 2006 the Special Rapporteur reported to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on his activities over the past year and communicated his views on the root and economic causes of the rise of racism and xenophobia. Among his recommendations, in the light of questions raised by the crisis caused by the publication of caricatures in a Danish newspaper, and with a view to strengthening efforts to combat racism, he proposed that the Committee should begin a detailed study of the link between the principles of freedom of expression and freedom of religion, and of the implications of the current amalgam of racial, cultural and religious factors in manifestations and expressions of racism and xenophobia. He also stressed the need to link the fight against racism to the long term, and not the current makeshift, construction of democratic, egalitarian and interactive multiculturalism.