E/CN.4/2003/24
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III. ALLEGATIONS EXAMINED BY THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR
39.
In 2002 the Special Rapporteur examined allegations relating to his mandate concerning
the following countries: Germany, Greece, Guyana, the Russian Federation, Spain and the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Summaries of these allegations and the
replies received from the Governments of the countries concerned can be found in the annex to
this report, in the original language in which they were submitted.
IV. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
40.
In conclusion, the Special Rapporteur stresses that his initial contacts with
representatives of Governments and intergovernmental and non-governmental
organizations have testified to the urgent need to implement the Durban Declaration and
Programme of Action in order to counter the alarming resurgence of expressions of
conventional racism and the emergence of insidious new forms of discrimination and
racism. The Special Rapporteur also stresses in this context the particularly alarming
recurrence of situations which, owing to the deliberate mixing or blending of race, religion
and culture, require urgent in-depth responses. The Special Rapporteur therefore
proposes, in the light of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, a dual strategy,
which will be both legal and political (by ratifying and implementing all relevant
international instruments and agreements) and intellectual and ethical (through better
knowledge and understanding of how deeply rooted are the processes and mechanisms of
the culture and mindset of discrimination). It is a question of establishing a close link,
through reflection and action, between efforts to combat racism, discrimination,
xenophobia and intolerance and the urgent promotion of dialogue between cultures,
civilizations and religions. The following recommendations are proposed to the
Commission:
To promote complementarity and cooperation between all mechanisms for
combating racism, discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance, particularly those
relating to the implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of
Action, between the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and the
Special Rapporteur, and between the Special Rapporteurs;
To give greater attention to discriminatory situations and practices against
non-citizens, migrants and refugees;
To consider at greater length in its deliberations the deep intellectual and ethical
roots of the culture and mindset of racism and discrimination;
To give a predominant role to dialogue between civilizations, cultures and religions,
as a maieutic strategy for surmounting all forms of discrimination, exclusion and
intolerance;