E/CN.4/2005/18/Add.5 page 11 not absence, of complaints of racial discrimination indicates that there is no racism. The Special Rapporteur believes that, on the contrary, the absence of complaints is a sign that discrimination is taken for granted by the victims, who are unaware of their rights and the penalties for racial discrimination, and that it also demonstrates an unwillingness on the part of the courts to deal with complaints. 28. The National Commissioner for Human Rights considers that racial discrimination is evident both in what is done and in what is not done. The latter category would include the failure to provide bilingual education for each indigenous and black community, despite the recognized need for it; the first would include the threat posed by tourist development to the ancestral lands of the Garifuna and indigenous people. Because of the inadequacy of the education facilities in their regions, the indigenous and Garifuna communities do not enjoy equal opportunities. Discrimination is also reflected in the absence of indigenous and African-Honduran people from positions in the media. 29. Despite the deep historical roots of racial discrimination, its pervasiveness in contemporary society and its daily manifestations, the Special Rapporteur considers that there is no clear recognition of this reality by the political authorities and the dominant classes. The failure to recognize the reality of racial discrimination and its pervasiveness throughout society is therefore a major initial obstacle to efforts to confront this problem directly and objectively and find a lasting solution. 30. The Special Rapporteur was particularly struck by the lack of an intellectual and ethical strategy to combat racism and discrimination. Neither the structure nor the content of the Honduran system of education has been subjected to deconstruction with a view to analysing the history of racism, its origin, its mechanisms, its process, its expressions and its manifestations. History, for example, which is the workshop for the discriminatory and racist construction of identities, does not appear to have been revisited, either in its written form or in the way in which it is taught. The mirror of identity, as provided by the media, ensures that indigenous people and people of African descent remain historically invisible - this is the legacy of discrimination and racism. The dominant system of values marginalizes the traditional cultural and spiritual values and practices of these groups. The task of building a genuine form of multiculturalism that is egalitarian, interactive and democratic therefore constitutes a major challenge for Honduran society. V. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 31. The Special Rapporteur notes that the Government has made progress in countering the impact of the legacy of discrimination against indigenous and Garifuna people, especially through the judicial and legislative measures taken with regard to the diversity of Honduran society. The reforms of the Supreme Court are particularly significant steps towards strengthening the rule of law in Honduras. The Special Rapporteur recommends that the whole judicial system should take as its example, both in the appointments process and in its operations, the principles of independence and rigour that govern the Supreme Court.