A/69/318 51. Taking into account the adoption of the Decade for Latin American and Caribbean People of African Descent by the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, they committed to expand and enhance regional coordination and cooperation in combating racism and promoting racial equality within the framework of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States as well as in other regional forums, such as the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) and the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR). Participants committed to support the implementation of the working group establishe d by the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States to develop the plan of action for the International Decade for People of African Descent, and to present the results and proposals of the regional meeting to the presidency and the troika of the Com munity and to the meeting of Ministries of Foreign Affairs. Letter to the President of the General Assembly 52. The Chair of the Working Group sent a letter to the President of the General Assembly, John W. Ashe, on 12 June 2014 regarding ongoing consultations with States members of the General Assembly and other stakeholders, to elaborate a programme for the implementation of the International Decade for People of African Descent. 53. The Working Group expressed its interest in the work of the Intergo vernmental Working Group on the Effective Implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action on developing the draft programme for the International Decade pursuant to General Assembly resolution 68/237. The Working Group noted its appreciation for the advancements made in the deliberations, while also aware that the Intergovernmental Working Group had not been able to reach consensus on some important issues. It emphasized that the Decade provided an excellent opportunity to address the root causes of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance and reiterated that political will was the only way to achieve the eradication of that evil scourge, which threatened all levels of reconciliation, peace and cooperation among peoples. The Working Group encouraged the General Assembly to adopt a strong, comprehensive and action-oriented document that would inform and guide the International Decade. The Working Group confirmed its commitment to contribute to the overall success of the International Decade and reiterated that it stood ready to assist the Assembly and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, as coordinator of the Decade, in the realization of those objectives. E. Other activities 54. In 2013, the Working Group participated in two expert consultations in the context of the post-2015 development agenda: Vienna+20: Advancing the protection of human rights achievements, challenges and perspectives 20 years af ter the World Conference (June 2013) and an expert meeting organized by OHCHR on human rights and the financial crisis: promoting a rights-based approach to financial regulation and economic recovery (July 2013). In those consultations, the Working Group underlined that people of African descent were numbered among the most vulnerable when it came to poverty and the denial of their rights. For centuries, people of African descent had been victims of racism, racial discrimination and enslavement, and justice must be included explicitly in the post-2015 development 14-59293 13/22