E/CN.4/2003/21 page 4 participants to consider how other United Nations mechanisms such as the Special Rapporteurs of the Commission on Human Rights as well as the treaty bodies might be able to contribute to the activities of the Working Group. He encouraged all participants to extend their constructive support and input to the experts as they held this very first session. 9. At the first meeting, Mr. Peter Lesa Kasanda was elected by acclamation as Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Working Group on People of African Descent. In his introductory statement, he stated that the creation of the Working Group opened another chapter in the worldwide struggle against racial discrimination. He mentioned that the Working Group presented an opportunity to exchange ideas and that its purpose was to propose constructive solutions to various problems faced by people of African descent. 10. At the first meeting, the Chairperson-Rapporteur introduced agenda item 5 (a) concerning “problems of racial discrimination faced by people of African descent living in the diaspora and to discuss how to gather all relevant information from Governments, non-governmental organizations and other relevant sources, including through holding public meetings with them”. He called for a general exchange of ideas on the item. 11. The observers for Barbados, Chile (on behalf of GRULAC) and Haiti stated that this Working Group was an historic milestone in the work of the United Nations and gave their support to its mandate. The Working Group heard several other interventions by observers in support of its work and mandate. 12. The observer for Nigeria (on behalf of the African Group) advised the Working Group to strive for concrete achievements within the shortest period of time, and encouraged other Member States to participate effectively to achieve justice. The observer for Jamaica stated that the issue of reparations was of considerable importance to that country. 13. Several observers for AFRECure (All for Reparations and Emancipation) made interventions concerning the historical enslavement of Africans, contemporary “enslavement” of Africans through the prison system, and they argued for the need for reparations and repatriation to Africa to ameliorate these problems. One observer for AFRECure also stated that there was an historical difference in the experiences of Afro-descendants vis-à-vis Africans in the diaspora, and that this should be borne in mind by the Working Group. 14. The observer for the African Canadian Legal Clinic stated that equitable education available to people of African descent often did not translate into socio-economic mobility. He also stated that racial profiling and incarceration, which tended to foster criminals, were also problems affecting people of African descent. 15. The Commission on Human Rights’ Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, Mr. Doudou Diène, highlighted the complexities of the mandate of the Working Group. He stated that slavery was the first form of globalization in history because it linked three continents through economic exploitation and the forced transfer of populations. He emphasized that it was fundamental that the Working Group consider the ideological and intellectual ramifications of the slave trade when studying the problems faced by people of African descent.