A/CONF.189/PC.1/7 page 28 property belonging to immigrants or ethnic, racial or religious minorities, desecration of cemeteries and destruction of places of worship; the Special Rapporteur adds that “theories of racial inequality are raising their head while at the same time modern communication technologies, especially the Internet, are being perniciously employed to foment racial hatred, xenophobia and anti-Semitism” (E/CN.4/1997/71, para. 130). 107. Anti-Semitism is an example of this phenomenon of irrational hatred with regard to Jews (that is, a religion): it ultimately forces its victims to fall back for protection on membership of a group or on referents that are not religious. Anti-Semitism - as the term itself indicates - is not solely aimed at the other’s religion; it takes the form of hostility and prejudice and then leads to violence against Jews and Jewish institutions (see, for example, E/CN.4/1997/71, para. 27 ff.). 108. Such irrational racism also affects the other communities mentioned above, including migrant workers in the industrialized countries. Unfortunately, it turns the very victims of racism against each other (anti-Arab racism among the Jews, anti-Jewish racism among the Arabs, etc.). Extremism, in all its religious forms (for example, certain black Muslims in the United States and Islamic movements in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East) and non-religious forms (neo-Nazi movements),116 and the policy of forced Islamization by certain States naturally encourage this mixing of ethnic and religious dimensions. (a) Discrimination by a majority against women belonging to one or more ethnic and religious minorities or groups 109. In some States, as a result of the economic crisis or religious extremism in society or even as a result of institutional attitudes, women may be subjected to sexism in addition to aggravated discrimination. The Commission on Human Rights, in its resolution 1999/39 of 26 April 1999, on the implementation of the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination based on Religion or Belief, repeatedly highlights the discrimination and violence against religious minorities, including the “arbitrary application of legislative … measures” (sixth preambular paragraph) and “practices which violate the human rights of women” (para. 4 (c)). 110. There are many examples of these triple forms of aggravated discrimination: (a) In the Sudan, it is alleged that the religious, ethnic and sexual identity of Orthodox Copt women in the north of the country (students, civil servants and young girls) has been violated. They have reportedly been flogged and arrested for trading or consuming alcohol and are subjected to forced Islamization and in particular to the provisions of the Islamic dress code (Act No. 2 of 1992) making it compulsory to wear clothing conforming to so-called Islamic moral standards;117 (b) Likewise in Afghanistan, a country with a large ethnic variety, religious extremism affects the whole of society, including non-Muslim members. Women appear to be the main victims, owing to serious restrictions in the areas of education and employment and the forcible imposition of so-called Islamic dress (E/CN.4/1998/6, para. 60 (a)); (c) In Indonesia, the Chinese community suffered badly from persecution during the 1998 riots; in particular, many Chinese women were the victims of rape and violence stirred up