A/HRC/31/74 34. The Chair-Rapporteur referred to the questionnaire sent to Member States in 2013 in preparation for the fifth session and recirculated again in 2014 in view of the sixth session, and indicated that 43 replies had been received. However, some of the questions had not been answered by respondents. Given that the themes and items included in the questionnaire had been agreed by consensus by regional coordinators, it was surprising that the inputs had not been received. He asked what the Committee should do with the questionnaire. He noted the importance of moving forward and concluding consideration of some of the topics. In that regard, the issue of racism and sport may require consideration at an additional session. 35. The representative of Brazil noted that, for her country, the questionnaire was an important exercise that accurately reflected the discussions that had taken place during the previous few sessions of the Ad Hoc Committee. According to the responses received, xenophobia and national mechanisms were concerns that were very relevant to countries. However, there was not yet a consensus on the issue of gaps with regard to those topics. Additional discussions could be needed on the topics, and the views of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on how the Convention related to those issues was essential. Alternatively, the Ad Hoc Committee could reflect on the possibility of favouring the development of plans of action, guidelines or a Human Rights Council resolution on the issues. She mentioned that, on the issue of procedural gaps, the questionnaire had indicated that the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination still lacked an official mandate to engage in actions, such as visits to countries, follow up to its recommendations and early-warning procedures, in line with what had been presented by the members of the Committee at the seventh session of the Ad Hoc Committee. Other treaty bodies created since the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination already had provisions on related issues. Therefore, a new report by the Committee on those issues would be beneficial to the Ad Hoc Committee. 36. The representative of the United States referred to the questionnaire and provided an update to his Government’s responses submitted to the original questionnaire in 2013. Since then, he highlighted that his country has significantly increased its internal mechanisms to address xenophobic violence and modern forms of discrimination, consistent with the obligations of the United States under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and other conventions. He mentioned two examples: first, in January 2015 the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation began collecting more detailed data on crimes that are bias–motivated, including against Arab, Hindu and Sikh individuals; second, in June 2015, the United States Supreme Court upheld the use of disparate-impact liability under the Fair Housing Act, a tool that addressed less overt forms of housing discrimination. Regarding the questionnaire, he suggested recommending a set of conclusions on the questionnaire at the next session while still encouraging those countries that had submitted replies to provide follow-up responses and those that hadn't to provide responses. On the list of topics, he agreed that the issue of racism and sport would benefit from further discussion. It was advisable to discuss what sort of product the Committee could prepare. He added that this Committee could be useful in developing guidance or best practices. 37. The delegate of the European Union mentioned that nine of its individual members and the Union as a regional group had responded to the questionnaire. For the report to be representative and relevant, a global snapshot of responses was required. If the decision was taken to recirculate the questionnaire, it should be circulated to those countries that had not yet responded. She stated that the questionnaire should not be an infinite exercise. She added that the topic of racism and sport merited further discussion. 38. The representative of South Africa stated that recirculation of the questionnaire would not necessarily elicit more responses, particularly as many delegations were 11