A/62/306 multiculturalism through the promotion of mutual knowledge and interaction between the different communities. In elaborating a cultural and ethical strategy not only against the pervasiveness of racist and xenophobic platforms but also for the comprehensive eradication of one of the sources of these platforms, particularly in European countries — the identity crisis arising from the contradiction between old national identities and the multiculturalism of societies — the authorities should, in the Special Rapporteur’s view, invite the Italian people to recall their history of immigration as well as their geographical and cultural proximity to and long history of interaction with the peoples, cultures and religions of the Mediterranean. IV. Collaboration with regional organizations 64. Within the framework of cooperation with regional institutions, the Special Rapporteur participated in an expert seminar on regional standards and mechanisms to combat discrimination and protect the rights of minorities, organized on the initiative of the independent expert on minority issues in cooperation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Organization of American States and held in Washington on 29 and 30 January 2007. This objective of this seminar, which brought together representatives of Governments, United Nations human rights protection mechanisms, regional intergovernmental institutions and non-governmental organizations, was to undertake a comparative analysis of the different regional laws and instruments that exist to combat racial discrimination and protect minorities, particularly the draft inter-American convention against racism and all forms of discrimination and intolerance. In his statement, the Special Rapporteur referred to the challenges facing the American continent, historically and geographically the scene of the systematic application of racism as the ideological pillar of the slave system and European colonization, in the fight against racism. The Special Rapporteur wishes to draw attention to the high quality of this initiative, which illustrates the importance of relevant regional bodies in combating racism and the key role that they can play in monitoring and raising awareness about intolerance and discrimination at the regional level. 65. Furthermore, the Special Rapporteur welcomes the increased cooperation with the European Union, particularly with the new European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, established on 15 February 2007 as a successor to the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC). As part of this cooperation, which was initiated with EUMC in 2004, a meeting was held in Vienna on 12 April in order to present the mandate and structure of the new organization and to identify possible new directions for cooperation. While welcoming the broader mandate of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, the Special Rapporteur hopes that the new Agency will continue the work of EUMC under the remarkable leadership of Ms. Beatte Winkler and that it will continue to give high priority to combating racism, xenophobia and related intolerance while also promoting a holistic approach in the fight against all forms of discrimination, as recommended by the Special Rapporteur in his recent reports. 66. Also within the framework of cooperation with European Union institutions, the Special Rapporteur wishes to refer to his meeting with a delegation of 13 members of the European Parliament on 12 June 2007. In this course of this meeting, which provided an opportunity for an exchange of views concerning the impact of institutional reform of the Human Rights Council on the work of the 07-49048 19