United Nations General Assembly A/HRC/17/40/Add.2 Distr.: General 25 March 2011 Original: English Human Rights Council Seventeenth session Agenda item 9 Racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related forms of intolerance, follow-up to and implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action Report of the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, Githu Muigai Addendum Mission to Singapore* Summary At the invitation of the Government, the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance visited Singapore from 21 to 28 April 2010. Following his visit, the Special Rapporteur concludes that the peaceful coexistence of the diverse communities in Singapore is a remarkable achievement in itself. Due to the historical legacy of communal tensions, the Government of Singapore is acutely aware of the threats posed by racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. In this regard, numerous measures have been taken to combat these scourges and promote social cohesion, religious tolerance and what is referred to as “racial harmony”. Yet, the legitimate goal of searching for racial harmony may have created some blind spots in the measures pursued by the Government and may in fact, and to a certain extent, have further marginalized certain ethnic minorities. In this context, the Special Rapporteur addresses issues related to restrictions on freedom of expression and assembly, the significance of ethnic identity, the situation in the fields of housing, education, employment, as well as human rights issues concerning migrant workers. * GE.11-12313 The summary of the present report is being circulated in all official languages. The report itself, contained in the annex to the summary, is being circulated in the language of submission only.