A/50/476 English Page 13 racial discrimination, and that historical, sociological, psychological and structural inertia were behind the subtle forms of racism and racial discrimination that lingered in American society. While welcoming the recent ratification of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Special Rapporteur recommended that the United States Government should revitalize affirmative action programmes in order to remove economic and social disparities, and should take measures to prohibit the establishment of racist organizations and ban racist propaganda. He hoped that the United States would ratify all the international human rights conventions, which would strengthen its foreign policy in the pursuit of peace and raise its credibility. 19. The United States Government made some observations in plenary meeting and in a letter to the Special Rapporteur. 10/ In the statement to the Commission on Human Rights, the representative of the United States of America emphasized that no country had gone as far as the United States in implementing so comprehensive an array of legal measures against racial and ethnic discrimination in voting rights, housing, employment and access to public services. Several lessons learned in the United States in the fight against discrimination could be useful to the international community. The United States welcomed the decision the previous year to extend the definition of racial discrimination to include anti-Semitism and anti-Arab behaviour. It noted, however, the persistence of prejudice and xenophobia in several parts of the world. The United States representative welcomed the content of the report and the opportunity to discuss the recommendations in the context of national efforts aimed at the complete elimination of racism. The United States delegation noted, however, that some of the recommendations presented real problems with regard to freedom of speech, freedom of association and freedom of the press. 20. The following excerpts from the United States Government’s letter add specifics to the statement made by its representative to the fifty-first session of the Commission on Human Rights: "As your report suggests, the United States has repeatedly and consistently condemned racial discrimination. We have undertaken to pursue by all appropriate means a policy of extirpating such discrimination in all its forms. "We have promoted racial understanding, and sought to guarantee to everyone, without distinction as to race, colour, national or ethnic origin, the right to equality before the law in civil, political and economic rights. Thus, contemporary United States domestic law on federal, state and local levels provides strong protections against racial discrimination in all fields of public endeavour and in many areas of private life. Our laws also include effective means of redress and recourse for those who, despite these protections, nevertheless become victims of discriminatory acts. We have also recently become a party to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. /...