A/HRC/18/45 facts correctly in school curricula. Moreover, he encouraged States where slavery and the slave trade took place to build museums to preserve the past and give visibility to historical acts that would facilitate the reparation process. III. A. 1. Summary of deliberations Briefings by members of the Working Group under agenda item 6 Participation in the Forum on Minority Issues 26. Ms. Sahli provided an overview of the third session of the Forum on Minority Issues, where the focus was put on effective participation of minorities in economic activities. She commended the work of the independent expert on minority issues, Gay McDougall, who had guided the Forum. The participants, of whom there were more than 500, included representatives of Governments, treaty bodies, United Nations specialized agencies, regional intergovernmental bodies and civil society. Ms. Sahli stressed that, importantly, the participants included representatives of minority communities from all regions of the world. 27. The speaker reported that the continuing challenges and problems pertaining to the effective participation of minorities in economic life and their full access to justice, health care and education had been discussed thoroughly by United Nations specialized agencies and civil society. Economic exclusion was a cause, a manifestation and a consequence of discrimination against persons belonging to minorities, many of which had historically been excluded from full and effective participation in economic life in both the developed and the developing world. 28. The speaker called on all stakeholders, including Member States, specialized institutions and civil society, to take further action to give more visibility to minorities, notably to women and children, who remained largely marginalized. Ms. Sahli also stressed the need to incorporate the multicultural aspect of societies in the national Constitution. 29. The speaker added that the debate on people of African descent was particularly fruitful, and reiterated the importance of special measures and the inclusion of people of African descent in economic activities as an effective means to combat the discrimination they faced. Ms. Sahli reaffirmed the need for Member States to ratify all relevant international legislation pertaining to minorities. 30. It was noted that, despite their growing number, people of African descent remained invisible in Europe and that more action was needed to address this issue. 2. Visit to Washington, D.C. by the Chairperson 31. The Chairperson provided an overview of her visit to Washington, D.C. in September 2010, where she met with representatives of the Organization of American States (OAS), the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank and civil society organizations with a view to promoting activities for the International Year. 32. The Chairperson announced that the Director of the Department of International Law of OAS had briefed her on the activities of the Organization with regard to people of African descent, including the draft inter-American convention against racism and all forms of discrimination and intolerance, emphasizing that the issue of Afro-descendents remained crucial for OAS, but that more still needed to be achieved. The Director had confirmed that regional conferences would be held by the Department in 2011, and invited the Working Group to participate. 6