The transformation of race issues in the UK brought about by the Macpherson Report on Stephen Lawrence's racist murder ten years ago is years away in a host of countries studied by Amnesty International.

Of particular concern is Russia, where police discrimination and intolerance affects many of the 113 ethnic minorities of the old Soviet Union. Darker-skinned people from the Caucasus are particularly vulnerable.

Chechens, for example, are now so frequently arrested in their homes that many wives insist on sewing up the pockets of their husbands' trousers to prevent police officers planting drugs.

Meanwhile, organised skinhead gangs attack foreigners and ethnic minorities, racist violence that is simply not treated seriously by the authorities.

Amnesty International's campaign on Russia seeks to encourage debate within a country where racist violence and discrimination are everyday realities.

We are also pressing the Russian government to grant passports to ethnic minorities whose old Soviet passports expire in October.

Without them, their Russian citizenship is in doubt.

While our own country is not free of either of these evils, we urge readers to consult www.amnesty.org/russia and support our anti-racist work at home and abroad, or contact me on mishalaptop @hotmail.com

-Dave Clark, Brighton and Hove Amnesty International group, Belgrave Place, Brighton