A/56/253 118. The Preparatory Committee drew up a list of participants in the conference, including all Member States of the United Nations and observers, the various related components of the United Nations — secretariat, specialized agencies, UNESCO chairs in the field of human rights and interreligious dialogue, treaty and non-treaty human rights mechanisms — regional organizations, international organizations of an educational or cultural nature, national and regional human rights institutes, national human rights commissions, and experts from religious or confessional groups and non-governmental organizations. 119. A dossier was also prepared for the attention of conference participants which included the membership of the preparatory committee, an introductory note, a brochure on the conference, the conference rules of procedure, a study by the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief entitled “Racial discrimination, religious intolerance and education”, prepared for the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance which is to take place in Durban, South Africa, in August 2001, a second report on the role of religious education in the pursuit of tolerance and non-discrimination, and a draft final document. 120. This draft document constitutes the basis for the preparatory consultations and the discussions during the conference and, once it is adopted by the conference, the final version will be submitted to the Commission on Human Rights and the General Assembly. 121. The Special Rapporteur wishes to stress the essential role of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in the Madrid conference. Besides making the appropriate logistical and human resources available, the High Commissioner is also expressly representing the Secretary-General of the United Nations at this conference, which is considered a follow-up to the World Conference against Racism at Durban, and has been actively involved not only in promoting this conference with various State and non-governmental contacts, but also in its preparation and progress. B. Interreligious dialogue 122. The Commission on Human Rights, in its resolution 2001/42, invited Governments, religious bodies and civil society, during the year marking the twentieth anniversary of the adoption of the 1981 Declaration, to undertake dialogue at all levels to promote greater tolerance, respect and understanding of freedom of religion and belief. 123. Indeed, interreligious dialogue constitutes one of the pillars of prevention in the area of religion or belief. At its meeting in Chicago in 1993, the Parliament of the World’s Religions attempted to promote the cause of true dialogue among religions. It is of primary importance that encounters with and among religions should create a space for mutual understanding in order to promote or strengthen full and sincere acceptance of freedom of religion or belief as defined and guaranteed by international human rights standards. In that way, interreligious dialogue should enable peaceful resolution and prevention of conflicts and violations worldwide. 34