A/HRC/21/59 complement the at times lengthy, inaccessible and expensive court proceedings. It added that providing remedies was a necessary but not sufficient means of combating discrimination. It was of equal importance that national mechanisms prevent discrimination by conducting awareness-raising campaigns, educational activities, training of journalists, etc. 60. The choice or combination of mechanism(s) should depend on the local context. It also welcomed cooperation and exchange of good practices between different national mechanisms and between national mechanisms and United Nations agencies. There was a need to further explore the potential of national mechanisms to improve implementation of existing international standards – thereby ensuring their effectiveness. It could be useful for the Committee at a later session to look further into guidelines for setting up national mechanisms. 61. On behalf of the African Group, Senegal urged the establishment of national mechanisms where countries had yet to establish them. These mechanisms should include issues of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance in their mandates. They should be victim-centred in approach and the access of victims to the mechanisms should be assured. Where there were national institutions and a specialized body, there should be coordination to ensure greater efficiency. Senegal added that OHCHR should provide appropriate technical assistance to enable States to establish national human rights institutions. 62. France noted that conciliation at the national level and networking at the regional level were effective ways to support direct impacts for victims on the ground. 63. The Chairperson-Rapporteur agreed that mechanisms should take account of local context and added that the Committee may wish to consider at some point the role, nature and benefits of regional mechanisms in addressing racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance as well as how national mechanisms assist in developing a regional approach to issues. He gave the African Peer Review Mechanism and its success on common governance issues as an example and also highlighted the role of religious faith organizations. 64. The United States of America appreciated the Chairperson-Rapporteur‘s intervention with respect to regional mechanisms, noting that the Organization of American States and Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe were also examples of regional initiatives which, via country assessments, were mechanisms for individual complaints and initiatives concerning discrimination on the basis of religion and belief. These regional approaches merited future consideration by the Committee. 65. Egypt stated that it would be useful to have presentations on regional standards in future sessions. It reiterated the mandate of the Ad Hoc Committee, stating that while steps should be taken on the ground at domestic level, this must be rooted in international standards and mechanisms. 66. Cuba emphasized that while national mechanisms were important they must be linked to the sovereign and individual culture and characteristics of a given country. A sharing of best practices and information was very much needed. 67. Liechtenstein stated that national mechanisms were closest to victims and were wellplaced to address issues of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance at the domestic level. The delegate noted that reference to the obligation of States Parties to establish national mechanisms could be included in any work addressing the procedural gaps in the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. 12