A/64/271 I. Introduction 1. The mandate of the Special Rapporteur on racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance was created by the Commission on Human Rights in its resolution 1993/20 and further refined in its resolution 1994/64. In March 2008, the Human Rights Council reviewed, rationalized and improved the mandate. As a result, the Human Rights Council adopted resolution 7/34, which extended the mandate of the Special Rapporteur for a period of three years and set out the terms of reference in paragraphs 2 and 3 of the resolution. 2. The present report is submitted pursuant to General Assembly resolution 63/242 on global efforts for the total elimination of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance and the comprehensive implementation of and follow-up to the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action. 3. Chapter II of the report is devoted to the Durban Review Conference, held from 20 to 24 April 2009 in Geneva. Chapter III describes the activities carried out in the framework of the mandate. As such, it refers to country visits — including by the former mandate holder — and press releases. Chapter III also refers to thematic issues addressed by the Special Rapporteur through his participation in conferences, seminars and other meetings since his last report to the General Assembly (A/63/339). Those issues include freedom of expression and incitement to racial or religious hatred, poverty, genocide, as well as discrimination based on descent. Finally, the Special Rapporteur presents a number of conclusions and recommendations relating to the Durban process and to the above-mentioned thematic issues. II. Durban Review Conference 4. The first year of appointment of the Special Rapporteur was obviously very much marked by the Durban Review process and the holding of the Durban Review Conference in April 2009. Consequently, the Special Rapporteur devoted a significant chapter to the Durban Review Conference in his annual report submitted to the eleventh session of the Human Rights Council (A/HRC/11/36). During the Durban Review process, he often stressed that the Review Conference constituted a unique opportunity to rebuild strong international consensus and mark the renewal of the international engagement in the struggle against racism. In that respect, he emphasized that the Durban Review Conference should be seen as the beginning of a new era of international mobilization in the fight against all forms of racism, rather than the culmination of the Durban Review process. 5. The Special Rapporteur was particularly pleased that the outcome document was adopted consensually by all participating States. While the Special Rapporteur regretted that 10 States had decided not to participate in the Review Conference, he recommended that those States publicly acknowledge their support to the outcome document. 6. On the question of freedom of expression and the fight against racism, which was key during the negotiations, the Special Rapporteur noted with satisfaction that the text agreed upon represents a landmark in the way the United Nations human rights system will in the future approach this issue. The Special Rapporteur welcomed the fact that the outcome document referred to the language of 09-45097 3