A/HRC/37/77 Public Policies, National Council to Prevent Discrimination, Mexico, the Head of the International Migration Law Unit at the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Kristina Touzenis, and the Professor of International Migration at Coventry University, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Heaven Crawley. B. Opening of the session and election of the Chair-Rapporteur 7. The Permanent Representative of Sierra Leone to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva, Yvette Stevens, was elected Chair-Rapporteur. III. Discussion of the state of racial discrimination worldwide 8. Mr. Ruteere discussed some of the main issues he had been working on as the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. He emphasized that in today’s counter-terrorism context, the world was witnessing a global rise in anti-immigrant and more specifically anti-Muslim rhetoric. 9. Mr. Ruteere had presented a report to the Human Rights Council on the resurgence of xenophobia in the wake of increased immigration and had noted that the issue had not received the attention it deserved. He had further noted that racial profiling by law enforcement officials was widespread and that it acted as a constant reminder of the normalization of racism and xenophobia. 10. He had also raised his concern about the prevalence of racism at sporting events and racial hostility in sports clubs. He had noted that new information technologies were being increasingly exploited to disseminate messages of racial and religious hatred, but argued that the Internet and social media should instead be harnessed as tools for more inclusive speech and global solidarity. 11. Ms. Santos Roland stated that the world was witnessing a rising tide in the manifestations of racism. She noted that a lack of information on and awareness of racial discrimination in the Latin American region often resulted in a lack of recognition of the problem. She also noted the lack of representation of people of African descent in positions of power, especially in the judiciary, and that affirmative action policies were needed in order to achieve equal educational and labour attainment. 12. In addition, Latin America had recently seen the scourge of xenophobia as a result of an increasing flow of migrants. That hatred towards people of other countries was made worse by declining local economies and rising rates of unemployment, which increased fear amongst the population. That had further resulted in the dissemination of ideas based on racial superiority and hatred that had not been addressed effectively, as a consequence of services not having the effective skills to do so. 13. Ms. Crickley drew attention to the great importance of the intersectionality between racism and gender oppression. She emphasized that people who experienced racism were not all the same and that they most likely suffered from multiple and aggravated forms of discrimination, compounded by factors such as gender identity and disability. 14. Ms. Crickley noted the danger of renaming racial discrimination as just another form of oppression. She stressed that xenophobia was the chief cause of racism against migrants and refugees and emphasized that fear of people who looked different did not justify denying them their human rights. 15. In terms of the issues with which the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination had recently been struggling, Ms. Crickley highlighted the denial by Member States of racial profiling by their law enforcement officials; anti-Muslim discrimination; racism experienced by migrants and refugees, particularly in the context of their right to work; and the intersection between racism and gender oppression, specifically with reference to the employment rights of domestic workers. 16. The representative of the European Union stated that racism was on the rise and that it negatively affected equality, freedom and justice. She emphasized that prevention was 3