A/50/476 English Page 43 combat racism and racial discrimination. In August 1995, the total number of signatories to the Convention was 143 States. V. ACTION CONDUCTED BY CIVIL SOCIETY 170. Throughout the world, NGOs are playing an increasingly decisive role in the fight against racism, xenophobia and discrimination against women and children. Such organizations, especially those with a membership of women and young people, are established and mobilized, often without substantial administrative and financial resources, to combat all forms of discrimination, take control and embrace their cultural identity or actively live cultural pluralism. Such structures and actions should be encouraged. 171. Far from leaving the population of the countries in which they occur indifferent, racism and the reprehensible behaviour that results from it give rise to movements of solidarity with the victims, and also to mobilization of public opinion. 172. In Belgium, 5,000 people demonstrated in March 1995 in the centre of Brussels. This demonstration followed the signature by 1 million Belgians of a petition addressed to the Prime Minister calling for Belgian nationality to be conferred automatically on all immigrants who have lived legally in the country for at least five years. 173. Meetings of the Front National in France are also constantly the subject of counter-demonstrations. The death in Paris on 1 May 1995 of a Moroccan drowned in the Seine gave rise to many demonstrations against this extreme right-wing party. 174. The publisher of a Japanese magazine which contained a 10-page article entitled "The greatest taboo in post-war history: there were no Nazi gas chambers" decided to withdraw it from sale after protests from many Jewish organizations and after powerful industrial groups had threatened that they would no longer buy advertising space in the publications of the group in question. 175. Throughout the world, there are many associations whose actions in the field afford an effective example of opposition to racist and xenophobic sentiments. 100/ Some of them focus on a particular area, for example employment. 101/ It is regrettable that the activities of some of them cannot be continued for lack of funds. VI. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 176. Despite two decades of action by the United Nations, racial discrimination is on the rise, fed by economic, religious and social causes. Legitimized by a cloak of legality, xenophobia is becoming disturbingly commonplace. Greater mobilization is required at both the international and the regional, subregional and national levels in order to restore and ensure respect for the dignity of man. /...