E/CN.4/2003/21 page 16 90. The Working Group held a wide-ranging discussion on the issues raised by the two complementary presentations. Many participants supported the need to engage and collaborate more with international financial institutions and agencies such as the African Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, the United Nations Development Programme, the Multilateral Investment Fund, the International Monetary Fund, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and other relevant stakeholders. 91. Mr. Martins said that there was a tendency to think that people of African descent were disadvantaged because they were poor, and that therefore solving the matter of poverty solved the problem of disadvantage. He said that it was often the case that the exclusion and disadvantage of people of African descent was based on racial discrimination distinct from general problems of poverty in a given country. 92. Several participants pointed to the need to collect data disaggregated by race and also gender, as this would give a true picture of the social and economic development of people of African descent in a given country and in the region. 93. The observer for Ghana reminded participants that it may be useful for the international development and financial institutions to look at linking assistance and aid to indicators (“conditionalities”) regarding the well-being and human rights of people of African descent. He added that income distribution rather than economic growth were a more relevant indicator of inclusion. 94. The observer for Brazil stated that the World Conference against Racism did not give the mandate to consider the issue of “benchmarks” of progress made in improving the socio-economic status of people of African descent. 95. The observer for Egypt reminded participants of paragraph 157 of the Declaration and Programme of Action of the World Conference, which called for addressing the issues of development and social exclusion and economic disparities through initiatives such as the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). 96. At the eighth meeting, the Chairperson-Rapporteur, Mr. Peter Lesa Kasanda, introduced the draft set of conclusions and recommendations prepared by the members on the basis of presentations and discussions at the first and second sessions. The Working Group heard comments from observers on this draft. 97. Mr. Kasanda made a closing statement in which he recapitulated the main presentations and points of the week, and thanked all participants for their comments, ideas and constructive working spirit. He explained that the report of the first two sessions as well as the conclusions and recommendations of the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent would be submitted to the fifty-ninth session of the Commission on Human Rights, and he briefly discussed the future work of the Working Group.