A/71/297 17. On 3 March 2016, the Working Group joined several mandate holders to call upon the United States to increase its efforts to address environmental threats to human rights, amid the recent outrage over lead -contaminated water in the town of Flint, Michigan, while reiterating the recommendations they had made during the Working Group’s visit to the country. 18. On 29 December 2015, in a statement to the press, the Working Group indicated that international efforts to tackle climate change needed to be more inclusive and involve those largely overlooked during the United Nations Climate Change Conference held in Paris in December 2015. 19. On 9 December 2015, the Working Group joined several mandate holders in issuing a statement calling for the full ratification of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic , Social and Cultural Rights. 20. On 28 July 2015, the Working Group issued a statement in which it expressed its concerns over fears of arbitrary deportation and racial profiling of people of Haitian descent in the Dominican Republic. D. Liaising with financial and developmental institutional and operational programmes and specialized agencies of the United Nations, with a view to contributing to the development programmes intended for people of African descent 21. In the exercise of its mandate and specific activities provided for in Council resolution 9/14, paragraph 8 (f) (i), the Working Group undertook an initial visit to Washington, D.C., on 27 and 28 June 2016. The delegation comprised the following members of the Working Group: Mr. Reid and Mr. Balcerzak. The delegation met with representatives from the World Bank Group, the Inter -American Development Bank and the Nordic Trust Fund. It also met with relevant members of staff from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. 22. During the mission, the delegation explored ways in which the Working Group could effectively contribute to development programmes intended for people of African descent. Another aim was to find out if, and to what extent, the financial institutions already had programmes for people of African descent and if any specific work was under way in the context of the programme of activities to implement the International Decade for People of African Descent. The delegation also inquired about the potential ways of obtaining financial support for activities relating to the mandate of the Working Group. 23. At the World Bank Group, the delegation discussed the aims of its mission with those involved in drafting and implementing specific pr ojects and with those in charge of staff member clubs of the World Bank Group interested in the activities of the Working Group. The Working Group learned of important and innovative initiatives, such as Digital Jam 3.0 and KingstOOn, taking place in the Caribbean. The delegation hoped that the initiatives would be replicated throughout the African diaspora. The delegation expressed its appreciation of the various activities undertaken at the World Bank and the Nordic Trust Fund which took into account a human rights perspective. However, the delegation also noted that awareness of the International Decade and its aims at the World Bank Group seemed to be rather 6/11 16-13578