40 PROMOTING AND PROTECTING MINORITY RIGHTS one’s religion, the right to manifest one’s religion or belief and the relationship between this freedom and other human rights.48 The Special Rapporteur conducted 32 country visits; reports on each are annexed to the annual report to the Council. Among the specific issues addressed in recent thematic reports are the situation of persons in vulnerable situations, the situation of persons with atheistic and non-theistic beliefs, and discrimination against members of religious minorities and new religious movements. The reports reveal that members of many religious minorities suffer from discrimination through policies, legislation and State practices, sometimes even leading to arbitrary detention and extrajudicial killings. Their vulnerable situation is aggravated when Governments target religious minorities by registering names and scrutinizing these people. In addition, violent acts or threats thereof are often perpetrated by non-State actors, either from different religious communities or from within the same community, without an adequate response from the State authorities. The Special Rapporteur has recommended that government officials be adequately trained in human rights standards and that particular attention should be paid to freedom of religion or belief. More generally, States should ensure that education is designed to encourage wider knowledge in society at large of the history, traditions, language and culture of the various religious minorities existing within their territory. Furthermore, States should ensure an equitable allocation of resources, including broadcasting frequencies, among public service, commercial and community media, so that the media as a whole represent the full range of cultures, communities and opinions in society. To contact the Special Rapporteur, e-mail freedomofreligion@ohchr.org or urgent-action@ohchr. org (with Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief in the subject line). Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance Established in 1993 by the Commission on Human Rights, the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance (known as the Special Rapporteur on racism) engages in a wide range of activities related to the mandate. The Special Rapporteur has been entrusted with a broad mandate “to gather, request, receive and exchange information and communications with all relevant sources, on all issues and alleged violations falling within the purview of his/her mandate, and to investigate and make concrete recommendations, to be implemented at the national, regional and international levels”. The Special Rapporteur visited 34 countries between 1994 and 2010; reports on these missions are included as addenda to the Special Rapporteur’s annual reports to the Human Rights Council. The Special Rapporteur has also in recent years been requested by the Council to present specific reports on “the manifestations of defamation of religions, and in particular on the serious implications of Islamophobia, on the enjoyment of all rights by their followers” (2009, 2008); “political platforms which promote or incite racial discrimination” (2007); and “the situation of Muslim and Arab peoples in various parts of the world” (2006). Upon the renewal of the mandate in 2008,49 the Human Rights Council requested the Special Rapporteur to focus on 15 issues, some of which may be of relevance to the situation of minorities. These include incidents of contemporary forms of racism and racial discrimination against persons belonging to minorities; situations of persistent racial discrimination against persons The framework is available from www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/FreedomReligion/Pages/Standards.aspx; the model questionnaire is available from www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/FreedomReligion/Pages/Complaints.aspx (both accessed 29 November 2012). 48 Human Rights Council resolution 7/34; the mandate was extended in 2011 by Human Rights Council resolution 16/33. 49