A/HRC/18/45 55. Mr. Paixao stated that, although racism was criminalized in Brazil, this was not the case in other countries in the Americas. He raised the question of whether a normative benchmark established by OAS concerning racism should reflect this high watermark or be lower so as to be more readily attainable by the rest of the American States. 56. A representative from a State stated that his country was fully committed to contribute to the full recognition of people of African descent, and had been undertaking several activities, including the production of publications on people of African descent, awareness-raising campaigns led by students, the promotion of self-identification of people of African descent throughout the country, and the inclusion of the Afro-descendant variable in the national census. 57. Mr. Wareham of the International Secretariat of the December 12th Movement provided an extensive overview of the perspective of several non-governmental organizations on the legacy of the World Conference against Racism in 2001 and on the actions undertaken by civil society organizations since then to maintain the focus on the fight against racism and racial discrimination. In his presentation, Mr. Wareham stressed that racism was rooted in economics and that, as a consequence, people of African descent remained largely excluded from development. 58. Mr. Wareham stressed again the importance of reparation as a healing process to address the wrongs of the past. He also called for a decade for people of African descent, with the theme of “recognition, justice and development” and with Haiti at the forefront. He suggested the creation of a permanent forum for people of African descent, and appealed for funds to be allocated to ensure the participation of grass-roots non-governmental organizations in all United Nations meetings related to the fight against racism affecting people of African descent. Mr. Wareham also called for extensive mobilization to ensure that all Member States were involved at the highest levels in the high-level segment that would commemorate the tenth anniversary of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action. 59. The discussions following Mr. Wareham’s presentation focused on the pivotal role of reparations. C. 1. Thematic discussion under item 8 on the situation of people of African descent Overview of the current situation facing people of African descent 60. Mr. Linos-Alexander Sicilianos made a presentation on the current situation of people of African descent, and focused on the work of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in that area. He stressed that the issue of people of African descent was on the agenda of the review of periodic reports from States and in the recommendations of the Committee that followed the examination of the reports. In this context, the Committee reported that the enjoyment by people of African descent of their economic, social and cultural rights remained disproportionately lower than for most other sectors of society, and referred more specifically to the higher unemployment rate of young people of African origin in Europe. 61. Mr. Sicilianos pointed out that the discrimination faced by people of African descent was based on their race and on the colour of their skin, and that people of African descent were subject to systematic racial profiling and anti-terrorism measures. He highlighted the difficult situation endured by women of African descent, who are often victims of multiple forms of discrimination. 10