A/49/677 English Page 8 enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the UNESCO Constitution. One might also mention here article 1 of the 1966 Declaration on the Principles of International Cultural Cooperation, which proclaims that each culture has a dignity and value which must be respected and preserved, that every people has the right and the duty to develop its culture, and that, in their rich variety and diversity, and in the reciprocal influences they exert on one another, all cultures form part of the common heritage belonging to all mankind. 10/ 25. In any case, it bears noting that, as the twenty-first century approaches, theories that posit a biological (or genetic) justification for racial inequality remain in vogue: in the United States of America, the racist conclusions drawn by Charles Murray and Richard Herrnstein in their recent work on the lower intelligence quotient of Blacks have reverberated loudly both inside and outside the country, to such an extent that President Clinton had to speak out publicly against this resurgence of racism. The authors maintain that Blacks are genetically inferior to Whites, and that this is borne out by the discrepancy between the intelligence quotients of Blacks and Whites. There is thus no hope of bridging the intellectual gulf that separates the two races by means of palliative measures to benefit Blacks. 11/ 26. The persecution suffered by Blacks continues to be associated with their physiological characteristics, their physical form and structure, the colour or pigmentation of their skin, viewed from an ethnographic or, at best, anthropological perspective that is often tinged with condescension for "ahistorical" peoples, to use Hegel’s term, or "subhumans" or "savages". 27. In short, then, contemporary racism is a kind of anachronistic biological and cultural fundamentalism, given that the current trend of human societies is towards racial mixing and globalization. 28. Racial discrimination means the legitimization of racism and applies to all practices deriving therefrom. It is defined in the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (General Assembly resolution 2106 A (XX), annex) as follows: "In this Convention, the term ’racial discrimination’ shall mean any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life." It should be stressed - for this is often overlooked - that the definition set out in the Convention refers not only to distinctions, exclusions, restrictions or preferences based on race, colour or descent but also to those based on national or ethnic origin. From this it can be seen that racial discrimination covers situations which do not have their origin in racial antagonisms stricto sensu, but have to do with within a single race or between ethnic groups animosities. /...