A/HRC/17/33/Add.3 adopt such legislation. As noted by these experts, the absence of domestic legislation often precludes victims of racial discrimination from seeking judicial remedies, particularly against the State. 2. Institutional structure 16. Various ministries have responsibilities with regard to migration: the Ministry of Justice (immigration control), the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (social welfare and employment), the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (education), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (consular issues) and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (skilled migrant workers). The Cabinet Secretariat and the Cabinet Office are in charge of coordination among these ministries. However, the Special Rapporteur notes some stakeholders’ views that such coordination lacks effectiveness since the Cabinet Office enjoys neither sufficient power nor budget over the ministries involved and is therefore not in a position to effectively coordinate their work. 17. Furthermore, the Special Rapporteur is concerned that the dissemination of United Nations bodies’ decisions is not effective within the governmental structure. He observed that various ministries had no knowledge of the recommendations made to Japan by various United Nations human rights bodies. 3. Local level 18. In the absence of an integration policy at the national level, it is mostly at the municipal level that action has been taken for the promotion of migrants’ rights. In 2001, at the initiative of the city of Hamamatsu, the Council of Municipalities with a High Concentration of Foreign Residents was established to identify solutions to common concerns which arose out of the increase of migrants in the 1990s. The Council adopted the Hamamatsu Declaration in October 2001, which calls for “the establishment of a truly symbiotic society based on respect of right and fulfilment of duties … and respect for each other’s cultures and values between Japanese and foreign residents”.7 It refers to the intention of these municipalities to promote a multicultural integration policy. Initially formed by 13 cities, it is now a forum where 27 municipalities gather to discuss how to better address the needs of migrants. Municipalities part of this initiative include Nagoya, Toyota, Hamamatsu, Tokyo, Osaka and Yokohama. 19. In addition to being a forum where municipal policies are discussed and evaluated, the Council makes efforts to influence the national Government, conscious that the problems faced by municipalities can only be resolved with drastic reforms and policymaking in terms of education and social security at the national level. In October 2008, the Council issued a declaration calling on the Government to form a new agency to comprehensively deal with immigration policies and increase efforts to strengthen Japanese language education. 20. In 2006, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications published the Plan for the Promotion of Multicultural Coexistence, to encourage local governments to establish their own rule for multicultural coexistence.8 7 8 6 Preamble, Hamamatsu Declaration (19 October 2001). Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Plan for the Promotion of Multicultural Coexistence (27 March 2006). Available from http://www.soumu.go.jp/kokusai/pdf/sonota_b6.pdf.