A/61/335 overemphasis on the fight against terrorism, not only in the resurgence of racial and religious discrimination, but also in the priority placed on a political reading of the existing system of international law and human rights, as illustrated by the debate on the relationship between freedom of expression and freedom of belief in the context of the Danish cartoon crisis. 29. In its resolution 1/5, the Council requested the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to select, in close consultations with regional groups, five highly qualified experts to study the content and scope of the substantive gaps in the existing international instruments to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. It also requested that these experts, in consultation with human rights treaty bodies, the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, and other relevant mandate holders should produce a base document that contains concrete recommendations on the means or avenues to bridge these gaps, including but not limited to the drafting of a new optional protocol to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination or the adoption of new instruments such as conventions or declarations. The Special Rapporteur welcomes this initiative and emphasizes his willingness to cooperate with the experts. 2. Resurgence of racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia 30. The Special Rapporteur has delivered a number of addresses on the resurgence of racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia, together with an analysis of their historical and cultural depth. He spoke at the Conference on Racism in Europe, organized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the City of Nuremberg, Germany, from 23 to 25 September 2005, and at the Conference of the Fund for Projects against Racism and for Human Rights entitled “Against Racism, for Human Rights: the Commitment of the Confederation: Assessment and Outlook”, organized by the Swiss Government in Bern on 15 November 2005. The Special Rapporteur noted the remarkable commitment of the personnel of the Fund in their efforts to combat racism in an unfavourable political context. He also gave a presentation, at the invitation of the German Institute for Human Rights, entitled “United Nations mechanisms to combat racism: lessons learned and challenges ahead”, on 22 November 2005 in Berlin. 31. The Special Rapporteur also participated in the Conference on Racism, Xenophobia and the Media: towards respect and understanding of all religions and cultures, organized by the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the European Commission and the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia, in the framework of the Austrian Presidency of the European Union, in Vienna from 22 to 23 May 2006. Benita Ferrero-Waldner, European Commissioner for External Relations and the European Neighbourhood Policy, and a number of high-level Arab and European media representatives participated in the conference. Topics under discussion included regulation of the press and editorial policies, in particular the limits to freedom of speech and incitement to racial hatred, the promotion of cultural diversity in the media, in terms of the information they disseminate and their internal operations, and relations between the media, civil society and institutional mechanisms to combat racism and xenophobia. The Special Rapporteur noted that the media should take greater account of the historical and cultural roots of racism and xenophobia, in particular Islamophobia, to further combat their 12 06-51904