A/57/204 Australian lands, of which they have been dispossessed, particular account being taken of their indissoluble links with the land. The land question remains crucial and is the key to the Australian problem. The Commonwealth Government and the dominant political forces mainly take a forward-looking approach which, while envisaging the possibilities of remedying the consequences of past actions, wishes to reduce their effects on the building of a new nation. 18. The Government cast doubt on the “credibility” of the Special Rapporteur’s analysis but merely submitted some corrections of a clerical nature, which were reproduced in a corrigendum issued as document E/CN.4/2002/24/Add.1/Corr.1. The Special Rapporteur hopes that his recommendations will result in an improved situation for the Aboriginal peoples and social harmony for the Australian people. B. Mission envisaged by the Rapporteur 19. Following allegations which he had received on the subject of racial discrimination affecting a number of ethnic minorities and indigenous peoples (E/CN.4/2001/21, para. 16) and having received an invitation from the Canadian Government, the Special Rapporteur had intended to visit Canada in June 2002. Because the actual date of termination of the mandate was not set until 26 April, the Canadian Government considered that there was insufficient time to organize the mission and asked for it to be deferred to a later date. III. Manifestations of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance 20. The principal contemporary tendencies of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance are connected with the increase in xenophobia in various parts of the world, the persistence of racist propaganda on the Internet and the rise in anti-Semitism. A. Racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia 21. The reports and allegations which have reached the Special Rapporteur1 indicate that there has been a resurgence of racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia in various parts of the world, affecting migrants and refugees in particular. This phenomenon would appear to be the consequence of the electoral successes of nationalist and extreme right parties in a number of countries and to influence measures adopted with respect to immigration, especially between countries of the South and those of the North. It may also be the consequence of the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, which seem to have engendered a stigmatization of Muslims and Arabs, who are supposed to be hand in glove with the terrorists. In the same context, the emergence of a verbal tendency to hierarchize cultures, some being considered “superior” to others, can only be a divisive factor pitting individuals and communities against one another and helping to sustain racism. 22. Numerous allegations complain of the rigorous treatment awaiting travellers from countries of the South in the consulates of the North, of the extreme 8