A/HRC/7/19 page 12 campaign against racism and discrimination. The Special Rapporteur was particularly impressed by the vision and commitment displayed by Ms. Manuela Ramin-Osmundsen, the Minister for Children and Equality, and by the Norwegian leaders’ political determination to promote multiculturalism by appointing Ms. Ramin-Osmundsen, who was born in Martinique. He hopes that the initiative shown by Norway will galvanize other Governments, especially in Europe, into implementing the Durban Programme of Action and participating actively in its review process. 39. The Special Rapporteur also participated in a meeting organized by the International Labour Office (ILO) and entitled “Towards a strategy for trade unions in the fight against racial discrimination and xenophobia”, which was held in Geneva from 4 to 6 December 2007. This meeting, which was attended by trade-union representatives from some 30 countries, drew on the experience of trade-union movements in mobilizing organized labour to combat racism and xenophobia. The Special Rapporteur, who encouraged delegates to the meeting to contribute actively to the Durban review process, considered that the trade-union movement had an essential role to play in eradicating racism and xenophobia in areas of such importance as employment and labour. He strongly recommends the Human Rights Council to cooperate closely not only with trade unions, but also with specialized agencies such as ILO, in this crucial process. 40. On 6 and 7 December 2008, the Special Rapporteur attended a consultative meeting of experts convened by the Independent Expert on minority issues in order to examine these issues and denial or loss of citizenship. 41. Lastly, on 4 January 2008, the Special Rapporteur took the initiative of drafting a press release, also signed by 13 special-procedure mandate-holders, in which he expressed his concern about the serious events which followed the elections in Kenya. In the light of the historical precedents in the region, the mandate-holders strongly appealed to the Kenyan authorities, and also political, ethnic and religious leaders, to put an end to what might turn into a spiral of inter-ethnic violence. They also called on the international community, including the Security Council, to fulfil its responsibilities in that crisis. 3. Collaboration with regional organizations 42. The Special Rapporteur participated in an expert seminar on regional standards and mechanisms to combat discrimination and protect the rights of minorities, organized on the initiative of the Independent Expert on minority issues in cooperation with OHCHR and the Organization of American States. It was held in Washington on 29 and 30 January 2007. The purpose of this gathering of representatives of Governments, United Nations human rights mechanisms, intergovernmental regional institutions and NGOs, was to make a comparative analysis of the various existing regional instruments and laws designed to combat racial discrimination and protect minorities, and in particular to analyse the preliminary draft inter-American Convention against racism and all forms of discrimination and intolerance. 43. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the collaboration which is under way with the EU’s new Fundamental Rights Agency, which was set up on 15 February 2007 to replace the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia. The Special Rapporteur attended a meeting with Agency representatives on 12 April 2007 in Vienna, which was aimed at defining new guidelines for cooperation. While he is pleased that the EU is broadening the Agency’s mandate to