A/50/476 English Page 44 177. The United Nations Decade for Human Rights Education, 1995-2004, should find expression in practical programmes for the teaching of human rights and cultural pluralism. UNESCO, the Centre for Human Rights and UNICEF, in particular, could play a decisive role in this area. States which are signatories to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and those which are parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women should gradually make the teaching of human rights compulsory and effective at all levels in school and university cycles and in vocational training, literacy and post-literacy programmes. 178. The mass media must also be mobilized with the support of non-governmental organizations, at the level of both States and regional organizations, in order to ensure the periodic dissemination of human rights information. In addition, greater efforts must be made by the mass media to avoid propagating racist prejudice and stereotypes and to help the general public to form responsible critical opinions on the increasingly tragic events which tend to be trivialized in some circles. Efforts must be made to mobilize the funds necessary for the holding of a world conference against racism, racial and ethnic discrimination, xenophobia and other related contemporary forms of intolerance. 179. On the question of the ratification of the International Covenants on Human Rights, even as they exercise their sovereign rights, States should refrain from making reservations or should endeavour to withdraw those already made which are impeding the effective implementation of those Covenants. 180. States should be less restrictive and more liberal in the granting of visas to nationals of countries of the South and call on their populations to be more receptive to foreigners and to cultural interchange. 181. In the short term, as the United Nations strives for peace on several fronts, radical measures are urgently needed to curb radio stations that promote ethnic or racial hatred and to suppress clandestine radio stations which engage in such activities. The Special Rapporteur wishes to recommend that, following the example of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre, in France, the General Assembly should establish a mechanism for monitoring the use of the media to incite hatred. Notes 1/ Through the computer network of the Centre for Human Rights, the Special Rapporteur had access to the annual report issued by the United States Department of State on the situation of human rights in every country in the world for 1994 ("Country reports on human rights practices for 1994"). 2/ Meeting on 16 March 1995 of the Special Rapporteur with the Deputy Permanent Representative of the Permanent Mission of Israel to the United Nations Office at Geneva. /...