A/55/304 B. Other European countries 38. On 6 June 2000, the Ministers of Labour and Social Affairs of the European Union, meeting in Luxembourg, approved a directive aimed at combating all forms of discrimination based on race or ethnic origin. The anti-racism directive expands upon the recommendations of the Amsterdam Treaty concerning discrimination. It covers not just employment but all aspects of everyday life, from schools to transportation to social welfare. What is new about the directive is that it favours the complainant. It shifts the burden of proof from just the complainant to the company (or other institution) accused in the complaint as well, whereas the laws of many countries still require the complainant to provide evidence to substantiate his or her complaint. The States members of the European Union have three years in which to bring their legislation into line with the 6 June 2000 directive. The member States also considered another directive concerning job discrimination based, in addition to ethnic or racial origin, on, inter alia, age, disability, religion or sexual orientation. 39. The Special Rapporteur has maintained excellent cooperative relations with the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance since it was set up in 1994 as an outcome of the first Summit of Heads of State and of Government of the member States of the Council of Europe convened to tackle the growing problems of racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism and intolerance threatening human rights and democratic values in Europe. The Commission has produced two very interesting publications, one on good practices in combating racism and intolerance in the media in Europe and the other on specialized bodies to combat racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism and intolerance at the national level. These two brochures are highly informative and deserve to be more widely known. They could inspire similar initiatives in other regions of the world in the struggle against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. V. Action by civil society 40. In Germany, following the Düsseldorf attack, Paul Spiegel, President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, warned of a new exodus of Jews and called for all-out mobilization and a massive campaign. “We are not going to let a gang of lunatic-fringe 10 elements destroy what we have taken 55 years to build”, he said. In conjunction with the federal government spokesman, the Council announced a “pact” to mobilize citizens against the far right. The initiative already has the support of a score of wellknown athletes, artists, actors and journalists. Under the slogan, “Show your colours”, the aim is to mobilize a “democratic resistance” to xenophobia and antiSemitism (as reported in Le Monde on 8 August 2000). A number of trade unions and professional associations have also mobilized against the resurgence of racism and xenophobia. The League of German Industry advocates dismissing employees who disturb the peace of a company by behaviour harmful to others. The postal union is calling for the prohibition of mail which from the outside can be seen to be attributable to extremists. Several thousand people rallied in Munich on Sunday, 13 August 2000, in a mass demonstration against racism and xenophobia. 41. In France, the organization SOS-Racisme carried out an operation on the night of 17 to 18 March 2000 to identify nightclubs which practise racial discrimination, so as to gather the evidence with which to effectively take court action. Members of the organization, in some cases accompanied by a bailiff, visited 88 clubs in 20 major cities. In each case, three couples, one white, one black and one North African, sought admission to a given discothèque. The white couple was always admitted, the black couple sometimes and the North African couple never. Discriminatory practices were observed in 60 per cent of the Parisian clubs visited. Blatant racial discrimination was observed at the entrance to 45 of the 88 nightclubs visited. According to SOS-Racisme, the cities where ethnic selectivity is most prevalent are Lille, Reims, Montpellier, Bordeaux and Paris. 42. An Internet site called I CARE (Internet Centre Anti-Racism Europe, www.icare.to) has been set up by the Magenta Foundation (Netherlands) and the European non-governmental organization United for Intercultural Action. Its aim is to coordinate the activities of over 1,500 organizations in over 108 countries with a view to mounting active resistance to racism and racial discrimination. 43. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the effective action which non-governmental organizations are taking on the ground. He hopes that their cooperation with him will intensify, particularly in the context of preparations for the World Conference against Racism,