A/HRC/25/69 were not being adequately implemented, whether the solution to this was necesarily new laws and institutions. 13. Ms. Gomes welcomed the victim’s assistance initiatives being implemented by the European Union. She reiterated that Brazil’s Law 10639 on diversity in the education curriculum was an excellent law on the books, however it required effective implementation. She gave the example of Palmares College which provided and Afrodescent curriculum and exposure to its predominantly Afro-descendant school population since its establishment ten years ago. She commented on the importance of census as respondents were increasingly declaring themselves as Afro-descendant and indigenous and also welcomed Afro-descendant public information campaigns being undertaken by Argentina. 14. The Chairperson-Rapporteur thanked Ms. Gomes for her presentation noting that human struggles build a sense of solidarity even for people who have never met. He highlighted the situation of South Africa after apartheid and emphasized that in setting a vision for a non-racial society, it realized that laws are needed as laws govern behaviour and ensures respect for human rights. He noted the importance of statistics, categorizations and South Africa’s experiences with affirmative action. underlined that that inequality and discrimination affects social cohesion and it may lead to security problems. B. Expert presentations and initial discussion on “Xenophobia” 15. The 5th meeting on 24 July considered issues of xenophobia related to the media. Ms. Milicia Pesic, Executive Director of Media Diversity Institute (MDI), gave presentation entitled “Xenophobia and (Racial) Discrimination: The Role of Media.” She introduced the work of MDI, which involved mobilizing the power of media for deeper public understanding of diversity through a bottom-up approach involving civil society organisations and media educators. She underlined the principles of freedom of expression and opinion, participatory democracy and diversity. She noted that after education and the family, media is the third largest source of attitudes towards others. She gave examples of ongoing activities such as training for journalists in Egypt, as well as examples from the United Kingdom, where the organisation is based. She pointed out that there was, in general, a great deal of discussion in media circles in the UK for the need to institute selfregulation, although she expressed scepticism about the effectiveness of such a framework. She also stated that it was important for the media to lead the debate amidst growing rightwing sentiments across different parts of Europe, while also referring to the general silence on multiculturalism following statements in recent years by several European leaders on the “failure” of multiculturalism. She outlined what MDI thought makes good journalism, including bringing diversity into the mainstream. 16. On addressing xenophobia, Ms. Pesic, suggested that in addition to being fair, accurate and balanced, journalism needed to espouse principles of inclusiveness and sensitivity as well. In conclusion, Ms. Pesic shared studies undertaken by the Media Diversity Institute entitled “Getting the Facts Straight: Reporting Ethnicity and Religion” and “Media4Diversity: Taking the Pulse of Media for Diversity” on media and diversity which included a number of recommendations aimed at different stakeholders (government and policy makers, civil society and media) about what they could do to enhance media diversity and promote tolerance and diversity through media in Europe. 17. The delegate of Pakistan on behalf of the OIC asked whether the media, in its role as a watchdog could, at times, usurp the roles that belonged to the executive or the judiciary. He also asked about the role of the media in eliminating racism and discrimination and as to whether the media required direction in combating racism. 18. The delegate of Egypt inquired about the impact of media on decisions of policymakers at the level of regional and international politics, as well as its role in dealing 23