A/HRC/11/36 page 13 IV. ACTIVITIES OF THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR A. Visits by the Special Rapporteur 40. Upon taking up his functions on 1 August 2008, the Special Rapporteur made requests to visit a number of countries. He also renewed requests for country visits that had been made by his predecessor. In the planning and undertaking of country visits, the Special Rapporteur takes into account the underlying principle that racism is a universal problem with global implications and therefore considers the importance of achieving geographical balance and of addressing a wide range of situations of concern to his mandate. 41. The Special Rapporteur is particularly pleased to have received positive responses from the Governments of Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Germany and the United Arab Emirates. The Special Rapporteur believes that the very act of inviting a mandate holder for a country visit is an expression of the State’s willingness and commitment to fighting racism and to engage in a constructive dialogue with the mandate holder. In this regard, the Special Rapporteur is pleased that he will carry out visits to Germany in June 2009 and to the United Arab Emirates in October 2009. Reports on those visits will be presented to the Council in 2010. B. Other activities of the Special Rapporteur 42. On 24 and 25 August 2008, the Special Rapporteur attended the Africa Regional Preparatory Meeting for the Durban Review Conference, held in Abuja. The Meeting was attended by Member States and civil society from Africa in order to draft a common position with regard to the Durban Review Conference. In his remarks, the Special Rapporteur highlighted that racism, xenophobia and intolerance were universal problems of global reach. The common recognition of racism as a fundamental problem of the present time was the first step in mounting the fight against it. The collective experience in the fight against racism had shown that no society was free from the scourge of racism. In such a context, the only possible response to a truly global problem lay in concerted international action at all levels. The Special Rapporteur further noted that the past international conferences against racism, including the Durban Conference in 2001, allowed for the creation of a solid legal framework in international law that not only prohibited racism, but pointed to concrete ways to overcome it. He further observed that the outcome document produced at Durban could undoubtedly be regarded as the most comprehensive and ambitious international effort ever made in the fight against racism. He concluded by noting that the Durban Review Conference, and in particular the Africa Regional Meeting, was a unique opportunity for a renewed engagement and expression of unrelenting political will to promote the fight against racism and to implement the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action. 43. On 6 October 2008, the Special Rapporteur addressed the Preparatory Committee of the Durban Review Conference at its second substantive session, which met in Geneva. The Special Rapporteur praised the breadth and ambition of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, which was a beacon of hope for those working against all forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. He added that the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action identified clearly the key international, regional and national strategies that had to be implemented to redress historical wrongs and current injustices. The Special Rapporteur noted, however, that the unprecedented framework established by the Durban