A/HRC/28/81 interventions, in writing, to the secretariat by 31 October 2014. The ChairpersonRapporteur invited general statements from the participants. 100. The representative of Pakistan, on behalf of OIC, thanked Chairperson-Rapporteur for his excellent leadership and guidance during the session. 101. The representative of South Africa, on behalf of the African Group, thanked the Chairperson-Rapporteur for his leadership and expressed recognition of the progress that had been made and of the improved constructive atmosphere of the sixth session. She recalled that the mandate of the Ad Hoc Committee should be guided by paragraph 199 of the Durban Programme of Action and Human Rights Council decision 3/103 and resolution 10/30, and restated the view of the African Group that such guidance should be the focus of the Committee when undertaking its work. 102. The representative of the European Union thanked the Chairperson-Rapporteur for contributing to a constructive atmosphere and a rich exchange of views, adding that the Chairperson-Rapporteur’s long-standing experience had assisted the Committee in finding common ground for the way forward. With regard to the two new topics considered during the session with respect to prevention and awareness-raising and to special measures, the European Union was of the view that they had been thoroughly addressed by the invited experts, none of whom had indicated that there was any particular area that was not covered by the current international legal framework to fight racism and tackle related issues. On the topic of xenophobia, she underlined that it was being combated through different antidiscrimination measures on various grounds, and that the European Union remained of the view that there was no added value in the Committee working on a legal definition of that phenomenon. As to the topic of national mechanisms, the need persisted to further explore the potential of such mechanisms to improve the implementation of existing international standards, which would ensure their effectiveness. On the issue of procedural gaps, the representative underlined that, as a starting point, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination was able to carry out its work effectively within existing procedures. The level of cooperation by States parties was not always satisfactory, which was why the implementation of the existing procedures should be improved in the first place. The representative also suggested that the Ad Hoc Committee provide its considerations to the Human Rights Council on the issue of the duration of the meeting time allocated to the Committee. Looking forward to the next session, the representative said that the work of the Committee would benefit from considering those consensual topics, during which States across regions could share their experiences in implementing existing norms and standards. 103. The representative of China expressed appreciation for the wisdom of the Chairperson-Rapporteur and paid tribute to all colleagues in the Ad Hoc Committee and the secretariat for their hard work during the previous two weeks. The delegate noted that racism was a serious violation of human rights and that the international community was witnessing serious and worsening racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. The international community should uphold the international framework aimed at combating racism and, therefore, demonstrable political will should be attached to the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action and the outcome of the Durban Review Conference. It was important to promote harmony and co-existence among different races and societies of the world. In so doing, the elaboration of new complementary standards to address contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance should take place. The Ad Hoc Committee was urged to achieve tangible results to that end. 104. The representative of Brazil thanked the Chairperson-Rapporteur for his role in helping the Ad Hoc Committee to find consensus in adopting the conclusions of the session. She expressed optimism about the focus of the Ad Hoc Committee and that its 20