The increase in xenophobia in various parts of the world, the persistence of racist propaganda on the Internet and the rise in anti-Semitism are the principal tendencies of contemporary racism and related intolerance, according to a United Nations human rights expert whose findings were released today at UN Headquarters in New York.

As the United Nations today marked the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, top UN officials stressed the need to take stock of what governments and civil society have done since last year's landmark international conference in Durban, South Africa, and to focus on practical ways of implementing its decisions.