A/51/301 English Page 9 C. Comments of the Special Rapporteur 7. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the clarifications provided by Germany and Italy regarding the alleged incidents of racial discrimination which have been brought to their attention. He congratulates both Governments for the measures they have taken to punish the offenders and to improve, through appropriate action, the situation regarding xenophobia and racial violence. The Special Rapporteur, convinced and respectful of the rule of law based on the recognition of the dignity of the human person, trusts in those two countries’ systems of justice and encourages them to pursue their efforts to curb racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia. He requests the Governments concerned to keep him informed as to the outcome of the cases currently under consideration. D. Field missions 8. In 1994 and 1995, the Special Rapporteur visited five countries (Brazil, France, Germany, the United States of America and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) in order to illustrate the various forms of racism and racial discrimination through specific examples. It has been claimed that the presence of several Western countries among those he visited was evidence of bias on the part of the Special Rapporteur, despite his insistence on the fact that racism and racial discrimination as defined in the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination exist throughout the world. 3/ That also applies to xenophobia, one of the manifestations of racism. The Special Rapporteur’s awareness of the universality of these matters is such that he will not be influenced by motives other than concern for objectivity and the wish to serve the cause of human rights. The joint consideration of the situations in Germany, France and the United Kingdom, far from stigmatizing a particular region, simply takes account of those States’ desire to place their human rights policies in the context of the European Union. Also, attention was focused first on the developed States because they are experiencing a resurgence of manifestations of racism and xenophobia in those countries. 9. It should be emphasized that the goodwill of the Governments of the countries we visited made a major contribution to the successful fulfilment of the mandate. Therefore, like the Commission on Human Rights, the General Assembly should congratulate the Governments of Brazil, France, Germany, the United States of America and the United Kingdom for having established a dialogue with the Special Rapporteur and for having been attentive to his recommendations. 10. In this context, it should be added that the Government of the United States of America has transmitted to the Special Rapporteur detailed comments on the mission report which he submitted to the Commission on Human Rights at its fifty-first session (E/CN.4/1995/78/Add.1). Those comments, after translation, have now been communicated to the Special Rapporteur who will present his observations to the Commission at its fifty-third session. 11. Following consideration by the Commission on Human Rights at its fiftysecond session of the report of the Special Rapporteur on his mission in Brazil (E/CN.4/1995/72/Add.1), that country’s representative expressed his Government’s /...