In its report ‘Our Creative Diversity’ the Commission rightly stated that “pluralism appears to be a fundamental principle. The lesson that emerges from the debate on this question is that cultural pluralism is omnipresent and a permanent feature of societies and that identification with an ethnic group is a normal and healthy response to the pressures of globalization. Ethnic and other forms of group identification can act as triggers for violent conflict when mobilized and manipulated to do so.”