A/HRC/4/WG.3/6 page 46 Annex QUESTIONNAIRE ON COMPLEMENTARY STANDARDS ON RACISM, RACIAL DISCRIMINATION, XENOPHOBIA AND RELATED INTOLERANCE In the follow-up to the recommendations of the 2001 World Conference against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, the Intergovernmental Working Group on the effective implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, established by Commission on Human Rights (resolution 2002/68), has addressed at its meetings the issue of the relevant complementary normative standards. On its initiative, a High Level Expert Seminar on complementary international standards was organized on 16 - 20 January 2006 (see the report of the Working Group E/CN.4/2006/18 at www.ohchr.org). In its conclusions from the seminar, the Working Group inter alia considered three directions of action that could be additionally instrumental in countering racism and xenophobia through means of law, namely, by: (a) More effective application of the existing relevant human rights standards at the national and international levels; (b) Identifying substantive gaps in binding international law and filling them by appropriate means; (c) Identifying gaps in relevant procedures established by international law and introducing complementary solutions in this area. The Working Group specifically concluded that “a successful strategy to combat racism and racial discrimination on a global scale, should direct relevant attention to the need to reinforce the implementation of existing international instruments and the elaboration of complementary international standards to address substantive and procedural gaps in those instruments.” Following on the Working Group’s recommendations, the Human Rights Council in its resolution 1/5 (30 June 2006) requested a Group of five Experts and the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination to prepare studies, on substantive and procedural issues respectively, for the discussion on complementary standards at the fifth session of the Working Group. The selection of the Group of Experts has been entrusted to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. According to the HRC resolution, the Group of Experts: • [should] “study the content and scope of the substantive gaps in the existing international instruments to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, including but being not limited to the areas identified in the conclusions of the Chair of the high-level seminar that took place during the fourth session of the Intergovernmental Working Group,” and