A/HRC/18/45 community that encouraged both to take long-term action in favour of people of African descent and to strengthen cooperation among different actors. 48. Following the presentations, Ms. Shepherd noted that the country visits of the Working Group permitted efficient monitoring of the implementation of the Durban Programme of Action. Mr. Sicilianos stated that, despite the controversies, it ought to be noted that many States had ratified the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination since 2001, thus showing a greater interest in the fight against racism. Several panellists and representatives from non-governmental organizations stressed that, while the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action was opening a door for people of African descent, more needed to be done to make it more effective. 49. One civil society observer noted that one of the difficulties that the Durban process faced was the lack of political will to implement the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action. The observer also noted that reparation and compensation were important issues, but only a few States, such as Belgium, had made any reparations for people of African descent. The observer added that European States should acknowledge that they had benefited from the hard labour of the ancestors of people of African descent. 50. One observer from a non-governmental organization pointed out that the rising number of suicides among immigrants, regardless of their legal status, was not always recorded and thus not included in statistics. She also mentioned that immigrants from Africa in Europe often had higher qualification than locals, but their qualifications were often not recognized and nationals were preferred in the job market. Action was also needed on the issues of access to housing and medical treatment, including language support. 51. A representative from a non-governmental organization reported that the constitutional reform that followed the Durban Conference in Ecuador helped bring more visibility to Afro-Ecuadorians and enabled them to participate actively in policy discussion. The importance of reparations, notably the return of ancestral lands, was also noted. 52. Diego Moreno of the OAS Department of International Law provided an overview of what had been achieved over the past 10 years, since the World Conference against Racism, regarding the fight against discrimination affecting people of African descent in Latin America. There were 170 to 200 million Afro-descendants in the region, and OAS was mainstreaming the issue of people of African descent in order to make the group more visible and to ensure their inclusion in all sectors of society. Activities of OAS included the organization of conferences, the drafting of manuals for technical cooperation, the holding of capacity-building workshops and the drafting of various legal documents relating to people of African descent, including summaries of good practices and public policies. 53. Mr. Moreno also mentioned a project aimed at disseminating standards of protection for people of African descent that identified 19 protection standards, including rights to participation, identity, education and religion. He pointed out that OAS had established a working group in charge of the drafting of the Inter-American convention against racism and racial discrimination, which prohibits 28 grounds of discrimination and indicates factors of discrimination. The Organization was currently increasing its partnerships with various United Nations bodies, including with the Working Group and the AntiDiscrimination Section of OHCHR in order to achieve the full inclusion of people of African descent in all sectors of society. 54. An expert and an observer from civil society commented that the focus on people of African descent in the region tended to exclude Caribbean countries, despite their significant Afro-descendant population, and suggested that there should be activities devoted to these groups in the Caribbean. 9