A/55/304 I. Introduction 1. In its resolution 54/153 of 17 December 1999 concerning measures to combat contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, the General Assembly, inter alia, expressed its profound concern about and unequivocal condemnation of: (a) all forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, in particular all racist violence, including related acts of random and indiscriminate violence; (b) all forms of racism and racial discrimination, including propaganda, activities and organizations based on doctrines of superiority of one race or group of persons that attempt to justify or promote racism and racial discrimination in any form; and (c) manifestations of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance against as well as stereotyping of migrant workers and members of their families, persons belonging to minorities and members of vulnerable groups in many societies. 2. The General Assembly likewise expressed deep concern about the increase in racial and xenophobic violence in many parts of the world, as well as the increasing number of associations established on the basis of racist and xenophobic platforms and charters. It furthermore condemned the misuse of print, audiovisual and electronic media and new communication technologies, including the Internet, to incite violence motivated by racial hatred. 3. The General Assembly therefore urged all Governments to cooperate fully with the Special Rapporteur with a view to enabling him to fulfil his mandate, including the examination of incidents of contemporary forms of racism and racial discrimination, inter alia, against blacks, Arabs and Muslims, xenophobia, Negrophobia, anti-Semitism and related intolerance, and requested the SecretaryGeneral to provide the Special Rapporteur with all the necessary human and financial assistance to carry out his mandate efficiently, effectively and expeditiously and to enable him to submit an interim report to the General Assembly at its fifty-fifth session. 4. The present report seeks to respond to the resolution cited above. It also draws on the pertinent elements of Commission on Human Rights resolution 2000/14 on the same subject, in particular paragraph 31 thereof, in which the Commission requests the Special Rapporteur to examine the issue of political platforms which promote or incite racial discrimination in violation of human rights and to submit recommendations thereon to the Preparatory Committee for the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance at its second session. 5. It should be mentioned that the analysis of the situations described in this report is a brief one, based on data compiled by the Special Rapporteur from the media and reliable specialized periodicals; it was in fact difficult to compile sufficient data between the date on which the Commission on Human Rights completed the work of its fifty-sixth session (29 April) and the end of July, as Member States and nongovernmental organizations did not have enough time to provide information to the Special Rapporteur. Because of the demands of preparing for the Millennium Assembly, the competent departments amended the timetable for the preparation and submission of reports, giving the special rapporteurs very little time in which to perform that task. II. Activities of the Special Rapporteur and field mission Activities of the Special Rapporteur 1. Participation in the work of the fifty-sixth session of the Commission on Human Rights 6. From 21 to 27 March 2000, the Special Rapporteur participated in the work of the fifty-sixth session of the Commission on Human Rights, held in Geneva. He expressed his grave concern at certain manifestations of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance and drew attention in that regard to three significant developments: (a) the accession to power in Austria of the Freedom Party, which in winning 27.22 per cent of the vote in Austria’s recent legislative elections has become a major political force in that country; (b) the attacks on migrant workers from North Africa (mainly Morocco) in the town of El Ejido in southern Spain; and (c) the tragic case of Amadou Diallo, who had died after being shot 41 times by members of the New York City Police Department. 7. The Special Rapporteur called on the Commission to pay close attention to the phenomenon of the presence of xenophobic or racist parties within 3