A/57/204 A. Brazil 26. The Brazilian Government informed the Special Rapporteur of the initial measures it had taken with a view to implementing the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action. On 21 March 2002, on the occasion of the International Day against Racism and Racial Discrimination, a protocol on affirmative action was signed at Branco Institute, which is the institute for training Brazilian diplomats, by the Ministries of Science and Technology, Justice, Culture and Foreign Affairs for the purpose of awarding twenty scholarships to Brazilians of African descent wishing to embark on diplomatic careers. Another important official act that occurred on the same day was the signing by the Palmarès Foundation, the Ministries of Science and Technology and Culture and the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development of a cooperation agreement for the support of populations in the Quilombo (territory inhabited by descendants of runaway slaves). The Brazilian Government intends to adopt further measures of affirmative action to remedy the disadvantages experienced by populations owing to racial discrimination. B. Judicial measures 27. The Special Rapporteur was informed that in the United States of America, in Birmingham, Alabama, on 22 May 2002, a former member of the Ku Klux Klan, named Bobby Frank Cherry, was condemned to life imprisonment after being found guilty of the murder of four black girls following the blowing up of a church. The Sixteenth Street Baptist Church was a rallying point for militants of the civil rights movement during the 1960s. To the satisfaction of the parents of the victims, justice was done, although more than four decades later, Bobby Frank Cherry having been the last of the four alleged perpetrators of the crime. 28. In France, the Court of Cassation has recognized “testing” as a way of providing judicial proof of racial discrimination practised by a third party. This unusual method of combating discrimination consists in having a bailiff or the police certify that a person has been refused admission to a public establishment solely on account of the colour of his or her skin or some other somatic characteristic. It has been used recently by SOS Racisme in the case of bars and discotheques in France. First, persons of Maghreb or African origin ask to enter the establishment. If access is denied on the ground that the establishment is a private club or is full, or that they are incorrectly dressed, persons of European origin present themselves. If the latter are allowed in, an act of discrimination can be certified and a case brought. A number of managers of establishments have been ordered to pay fines but have appealed. The decision of the Court of Cassation quashes a judgement of the Montpellier Appeal Court, dated 5 June 2001, acquitting operators and doormen in a number of discotheques in the region of Hérault. V. Conclusions 29. Combating racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance requires conviction, consistency, perseverance and determination. The current international context should not cause these requirements to be 10