A/CONF.189/PC.1/7 page 4 Introduction 1. There are over 7,500 ethnic groups and “minoritized” communities, 6,700 languages and countless religions and beliefs in the world today, spread over the five continents and the 185 States Members of the United Nations [Yacoub, 1998].1 To this figure, which shows the great richness of our planet, should be added a second, disturbing, figure. According to certain sources (already somewhat dated), 2.2 billion people are the victims of discrimination or restrictions on the basis of their freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief or their ethnic identity [Odio-Benito, 1989].2 2. At the dawn of the twenty-first century, the state of international society is certainly paradoxical. While it is definitely much more closely integrated, it has never ceased to be in conflict. The old world order has been replaced by new local conflicts in which political and economic factors cut across historical, religious, ethnic or nationalistic lines. International society is faced with new situations: the divisions are far less clear-cut and the conflicts, ever more scattered and sometimes difficult to comprehend, target people’s integrity, identity, freedom and humanity. 3. The elimination of all forms of discrimination, as an integral part of the international protection of human rights, has consequently become one of the most urgent imperatives in the world today. The formation or break-up of States, territorial divisions, voluntary or forced migrations, or simply economic and social conditions, religious and political extremism, the negative role of the media and prejudice are all likely to heighten tensions, particularly ethnic and/or religious tensions. After lying dormant for a long time, they resurface, sometimes violently but often in a more diffuse and destructive way. Many population groups have been minoritized. Peaceful, or at least conflict-free, coexistence among the various communities is jeopardized. Economic development imperatives are disrupted, delayed or called into question. The threats to domestic and international peace and security are, more than ever, interdependent. 4. This explains why the international community, particularly the United Nations system, has gone to such lengths to establish rules and set up mechanisms specifically to deal with racial and religious discrimination, while taking into account as far as possible the requirements of State sovereignty and the constraints of providing increased protection for human rights and fundamental freedoms.3 5. However, if these rules and mechanisms are studied together with discrimination as it is practised throughout the world, the distinctions between racial and religious categories, or even between commonly-used concepts or terms, are not clear, whether the subject is minorities [Yacoub, 1998]4 or religion.5 6. There are borderline cases where racial and religious distinctions are far from clear-cut. Apart from any discrimination, the identity of many minorities, or even large groups of people, is defined by both racial and religious aspects. Hence, many instances of discrimination are aggravated by the effects of multiple identities. Moreover, the right to freedom of religion is an essential human right, just like the right to belong to an ethnic group or to a minority. When both of these rights are infringed in the case of a single person or group of persons, the violation