E/CN.4/1997/71/Add.1 page 5 has proceeded to the formulation of the constitutional and legal principles establishing the necessary conditions for raising the standard of living of the members of the Black and indigenous communities, as illustrated by the provisions of the 1991 Constitution and transitional article 55, which has become Act No. 70. 9. But equality of rights is not yet reflected in everyday life, owing to the slow pace of sociological and political change, resistance from the controllers of capital, clashing economic interests and the resultant widespread violence. The political will to proceed with reforms exists among the liberals and democrats, but is encountering resistance. The indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities, who have no watchword but the 1991 Constitution and Act No. 70, to which they constantly refer, are concerned at the administrative delays and afraid of losing the gains they have made under the Constitution to the major development projects which, they believe, are aimed at divesting them of their land. They also criticize the establishment of “special public order areas” intended “to combat drug-trafficking”, but which they feel are in fact “dictatorships” where many members of their communities are murdered. Furthermore, administrative detention on mere suspicion of a misdemeanour or offence against public order results in population displacements, according to the people with whom the Special Rapporteur spoke. These groups fear the changes in lifestyle imposed by large modern farms and fisheries and the harm to biodiversity caused by the destruction of the environment. But these communities are organizing themselves and mobilizing, together with the forces of progress, to ensure that the hopes raised by the fundamental texts lead to action, since there is a gap between what the law says and what happens in practice; the Colombian Government affirms that it is attentive to this legitimate expectation. I. A COUNTRY MOVING TOWARDS RACIAL AND ETHNIC INTEGRATION A. Ethno-demographic data 5 10. Of a total estimated population of 37 million, the indigenous or Amerindian populations comprise 600,000 people, or approximately 2 per cent of the population, 6 subdivided into 81 ethnic groups spread throughout the 7 country, with high densities in the Andean and Amazonian regions. 11. The Afro-Colombians, who are made up of descendants of Africans and of 8 persons of mixed descent, either African and European or Creole or African and Amerindian, number approximately 6 million (16 per cent of the total population). 9 They live in all parts of the country, and particularly in the large cities (Cali, Cartagena, Barranquilla) and along the Atlantic and Pacific seaboards. B. Constitutional and legislative guarantees 12. The 1991 Constitution, which was the outcome of a large-scale political and social movement in which, notably, the indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities took part, recognizes Colombia's ethnic and cultural diversity and provides the country with the necessary tools to protect that diversity and eliminate any form of discrimination.