A/CONF.189/PC.2/22 page 38 children because of their multiple identities (based on race/religion, race/gender or race/gender/religion), which tends to involve not just an accumulation or ordinary addition of offences but creates a new, more serious offence that should consequently be subject to a special legal regime.141 4. Information gathering 135. In the field of education, especially primary and secondary education, there appears to be a glaring lack of general information and data on the implications of racial discrimination and religious intolerance, particularly in the lives of children from minorities and children of migrant workers.142 The available statistics are not yet broken down with reference to the types of discrimination prohibited by international law. However, according to the Report on the World Social Situation 1997, it seems that “in almost all multi-ethnic countries, the drop-out rates among some ethnic minorities [are] higher than [those] of dominant groups or the majority” (E/1997/15 - ST/ESA/252, chap. V, sect. A, para. 18). The development of a preventive strategy to combat the various types of discrimination therefore requires the systematic collection, not only at the national and regional levels but also, more importantly, at the international level, of specific data on the situation of such children and, in particular, data on literacy rates, school drop-out rates and unemployment rates, broken down by ethnic and/or religious group and compared with the rates for society as a whole.143 The collection of such data should also include the content of education, the teaching approach used in certain subjects related to interculturalism, the state of language teaching for the school population as a whole, teaching in the language or languages of minorities, religious education, and information on the best practices of States with regard to the prevention of racial discrimination and religious intolerance, in order to help other States save time and money by not repeating the same mistakes. Collecting data of this kind is essential if the effects of educational policies on children from minorities or ethnic/religious groups are to be measured and, where necessary, rectified. 5. The media and means of communication 136. The media and media representatives should be involved in regular campaigns to raise awareness of the problems of racial discrimination and religious intolerance in school education. 137. States and the relevant intergovernmental organizations should coordinate their efforts in order to take advantage of the enormous opportunities offered by modern means of mass communication. They should envisage, in particular, using the Internet more widely to promote tolerance and combat racism in schools; they should give greater prominence to the content of education in the fight against discrimination and intolerance by setting up web sites and specific programmes aimed at schools all over the world.144 The general thrust of these programmes could be concentrated on highlighting the unity of mankind and cultural diversity, the shared values of tolerance and an intercultural approach to the history of civilizations and religions. In the area of education, they could include training and documentation programmes focused on the prevention of discrimination and intolerance. Likewise, they could be particularly useful in raising human rights awareness by disseminating positive information about minorities and immigrants so that school children become less receptive to racist propaganda, xenophobia and