A/HRC/2/3 page 7 legislation and administrative measures overtly designed to control and monitor such minorities on a variety of pretexts relating to security, illegal immigration or strict application of the principle of secularism. These measures stigmatize these communities even further and legitimize the discrimination that they experience. 19. Anti-Semitism, one of the oldest and most profound forms of discrimination, has cultural and religious roots and is a multifaceted phenomenon. However, in all of its manifestations, the same relationship between defamation of religions and discrimination can be observed. The demonization and dehumanization of Jews, which have culminated in the State-organized Holocaust, the annihilation of the Jews of Europe, has constituted a fertile ground for discrimination against Jewish individuals, religious and community organizations. All of this has led to a trivialization and growing occurrence of acts of discrimination, sometimes violent, against Jews and the Jewish community in many countries. Current manifestations of anti-Semitism can be found in the deep layers of many cultures, in the traditional platforms of extreme right-wing parties, in the statements and writings of political, intellectual and artistic figures, and in the increase in the number of attacks on places of worship and culture. The enduring conflict between Israel and the Palestinian people is generating forms of anti-Semitism in certain communities of migrants in Europe. New or old, anti-Semitism is real and deep in many societies. 20. There has also been an undeniable increase in acts of Christianophobia, which has been particularly apparent in the context of the complex relations between Christians and Muslims and the proselytism of certain evangelical groups. In all the occurrences of discrimination and intolerance against Christians - mainly reflected in the attacks of their places of residence and worship - the common denominator has always been the fact that this religion, amalgamated with the Western civilization, has been the target of defamation and demonization. 21. Defamation of religions, in its manifestations of racial and religious hatred, in words and acts, also concerns other religious and spiritual traditions older than Christianity and Islam, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and traditions of African origin, such as voodoo. Paradoxically, their defamation is coupled with their revival and influence in many parts of the world. The fact that discrimination against these spiritual traditions is particularly growing in the traditional lands of the three Abrahamic religions suggests that the ancient hostility of these religions towards non-Western forms of spirituality is one of the sources. Their distinctive ethnic and cultural features and expressions, particularly targeted in the manifestations of hostility and repression, illustrate the centrality of the amalgamation of the factors of race, culture and religion in the post-9/11 ideological atmosphere of intolerance and polarization. II. DEFAMATION OF RELIGION AND THE RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF RELIGION OR BELIEF 22. The use of religious beliefs for political purposes, along with the negative stereotyping of some religions and beliefs, has often posed a challenge to the growth of a tolerant global society. In addition, the phenomenon of globalization has brought with it a series of new challenges. In particular, there is now much more awareness of, and prompt access to, information across borders and cultures. As a result, people of all opinions, beliefs and faiths live in greater proximity, making the need for tolerance even more urgent.