A/HRC/4/19 page 13 29. On 23 November 2006, the Special Rapporteur took part in the symposium “Memory and Human Rights: Challenges and perspectives for the peoples of Africa and Latin America”, held at the Palais des Nations in Geneva by several NGOs, including the Swiss Lenten Fund, and in association with the Geneva Graduate Institute of Development Studies. At the symposium, the Special Rapporteur made a statement on cultural resistance to slavery and its consequences. The Special Rapporteur welcomes this initiative, which draws attention to the absence of memory and the failure to acknowledge crimes linked to colonization and slavery. 30. On 24 November 2006, at the invitation of the International Labour Office, he participated in the symposium to mark the eightieth anniversary of the Commission of Experts of the International Labour Organization (ILO), which brought together numerous high-level experts on international law, including representatives of the inter-American human rights system, the International Court of Justice and other regional and international institutions. At the symposium, which covered the various aspects of protection of labour rights as well as human rights, the Special Rapporteur made a statement on human rights special procedures. 31. Lastly, on 27 and 28 November 2006, the Special Rapporteur participated in the Race Convention 2006 in London, organized to mark the thirtieth anniversary of the Commission for Racial Equality, during which he talked about the additional challenges that globalization poses to efforts to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. In this context, he wishes to commend the Commission’s outstanding contribution to the campaign against racism in the United Kingdom. He hopes that the new institution, the Commission for Equality and Human Rights, which is to replace the present Commission for Racial Equality, will be able to make combating racism a high priority, while promoting a holistic approach to the fight against all forms of discrimination (including race, religious belief, age, disability and sexual preference), as recommended by the Special Rapporteur in his recent reports. Efforts to combat the defamation of religions and to promote interreligious dialogue 32. The Special Rapporteur took part in many discussions and seminars on combating the defamation of religions and promoting interreligious dialogue. He drew attention to the Atman Encounter “Dialogue among cultures and religions”, held in Madrid on 27 and 28 October 2005 by the Atman Foundation, and the expert seminar on “Combating the defamation of religions”, held in Seville on 18 and 19 November 2005 by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and Fundación Tres Culturas. 33. The Special Rapporteur also participated in the work of the conference “Challenging Stereotypes in Europe and the Islamic World: Working Together for Constructive Policies and Partnerships” held at Wilton Park on 2 and 3 May 2006 by the British Foreign Office in association with the Organization of the Islamic Conference. The conference, which brought together officials of several European Governments and of the Islamic Conference, representatives of Muslim communities in Europe and the United States of America, intellectuals and NGOs, covered the promotion of cooperation and dialogue in the establishment of joint programmes to combat prejudice against and stereotyping of Muslim communities throughout the Western world.