A/52/471 English Page 6 discrimination against Roma, gypsies or travellers in certain countries; and the discriminatory application of the death penalty in the United States of America. A. 1. Discrimination against immigrants and migrant workers Contribution of public bodies responsible for combating racism and other forms of racial discrimination 14. The non-governmental human rights organization Nord-Sud XXI stated the following: "One of the major issues regarding racism is the problem of population flows moving from underdeveloped areas, war zones or situations of repression to peaceful, developed areas. That States of the North cannot at one and the same time (even though this is indeed their attitude): - Preserve unchanged the profound inequality of the structures of international society and give lessons in humanitarianism to the whole world; - Turn away vast numbers of individuals who are entitled to asylum under agreements such as the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, after having themselves organized immigration during their years of economic growth; - Treat in a discriminatory manner de jure or de facto refugees residing in their territory. "France, which constantly invokes the two-centuries-old Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (not 'the Rights of the Frenchman'), has been elaborating a series of discriminatory legal and regulatory provisions (such as the 1996 law on identity checks). Its public administration (service des étrangers at the prefecture level, Office français pour les réfugié et apatrides, etc.) often functions in a discriminatory manner, working on the basis of mere circulars which contradict legislative provisions or decisions of the Supreme Court. Rights and freedoms have thus been eroded and legality undermined by a policy of social and racial discrimination ... "Immigration policy in Europe and the United States of America is a measure of the ability of the great Powers to conceive of a new kind of North-South relationship, based on cooperation rather than hegemonism. "In any case, Nord-Sud XXI, whose philosophy, internal methods and social practice involve systematically bringing together public figures and political activists from all over the world, believes that a world summit on racism, paying particular attention to the issue of immigration and its linkage with North-South relations, should be organized as a matter of great urgency. /...