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"The Special Rapporteur ... visited Switzerland from 9 to 13 January 2006, with the principal objective of assessing the situation of racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia, as well as the policies and measures adopted by the Government to address these phenomena ... At the end of his visit, and on the basis of the information gathered, the Special Rapporteur came to the main conclusion that there is a dynamic of racism and xenophobia in Switzerland. He noted, in this regard, that, although Switzerland has competent mechanisms and motivated officials with mandates to combat racism, at the national level this reality is not recognized and there is no coherent and resolute political and legal strategy against racism and xenophobia. In particular, he observed two underlying causes of this dynamic: deep-rooted cultural resistance within Swiss society to the multiculturalization process, especially where persons of south-eastern European and non-European origin are concerned, and the growing prevalence of racist and xenophobic stances in political programmes and discourse, particularly during elections and various votes."--Introd.

Based on meetings of the Human Rights Council's representative with federal institutions (including the Supreme Court), nonprofit organizations addressing racism, minority communities, and victims of racism in Washington, DC, New York, Chicago, Omaha, Los Angeles, New Orleans and the Louisiana and Mississippi Gulf Coast, Miami, and San Juan (Puerto Rico) from 19 May to 6 June 2008.

"Doudou Diène and ... Gay McDougall visited the Dominican Republic between 23 and 29 October 2007 ... The experts found that there is a profound and entrenched problem of racism and discrimination in Dominican society, generally affecting blacks and particularly such groups as black Dominicans, Dominicans of Haitian descent and Haitians ... [Diène and McDougall] noted that the issue of racism is almost invisible in certain parts of society and in particular amongst elites who vehemently deny the possibility of the existence of such a phenomenon. While there is no Government policy of racism and no legislation that is on the face of it clearly discriminatory, the experts highlight the discriminatory impact of certain laws, particularly those relating to migration, civil status and the granting of Dominican citizenship to persons of Haitian heritage born in the Dominican Republic."--Summary.

"The Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance visited Moscow and Saint Petersburg from 12 to 17 June 2006 ... Russian society is facing an alarming trend of racism and xenophobia, the most striking manifestations of which are the increasing number of racially motivated crimes and attacks, including by neo-Nazi groups, particularly against people of non-Slav appearance originating from the Caucasus, Africa, Asia or the Arab world; the growing level of violence with which some of these attacks are carried out, resulting in some cases in the death of the victim; the extension of this violence to human rights defenders, intellectuals and students engaged in the combat against racism; the climate of relative impunity that the perpetrators of such acts enjoy from law enforcement agents, despite a substantial increase, in recent months, of prosecutions and convictions for acts including racial hatred or enmity as a motivating factor; the rise of anti-Semitism as well as other forms of religious intolerance, in particular against Muslims; the existence and the increasing importance of political parties with racist and xenophobic platforms; and the virtual correspondence of the social, economic and political marginalization with the mapping of ethnic minorities and other discriminated groups in the Russian Federation ... The rise of this violence is rooted in the ethnic interpretation, by neo-Nazi and extremist groups and some political parties, of the political nationalism promoted by the Russian authorities to fill the ideological void of socialism and internationalism left by the collapse of the Soviet Union. On the other hand, the deep social and economic crisis of the Russian society has nourished the political instrumentalization of the ideology of nationalism and promoted a culture of xenophobia and racism in the growing marginalized groups of the society."--Summary.

The principal aim of the Special Rapporteur's visit was to assess the situation of Afro-Colombians, indigenous populations, and Roma in the context of political violence in Colombia.

Submitted pursuant to Commission on Human Rights resolution 2003/41, the study reviews political parties or other organizations that promote racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance worldwide.