E/CN.4/2003/21 page 14 78. The observer for Espacio Afro-Americano stated that while there was a breadth of international human rights mechanisms intended to protect the human rights of people, including people of African descent, the issue was the lack of political will in many countries to properly implement the mechanisms. She pointed to the need, for example, for States to make the Declaration under article 14 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, recognizing the competence of the Committee to hear individual complaints. 79. The observer for Uganda pointed to the need to find short-term solutions such as effectively utilizing the existing international human rights mechanism to realize the economic, social and cultural, civil and political rights of people of African descent. 80. The observer for Brazil reminded the Working Group of the confidential “1503 procedure” of the Commission on Human Rights, which is another human rights mechanism available to people of African descent. 81. The observer for China stated that, while these mechanisms did exist, it was important to inform and educate people of African descent about them and how to make use of them to protect their rights. He added that the State bore primary responsibility for the promotion and protection of human rights and that, in this regard, the mechanisms were supplementary. 82. The observer for Nigeria stated that the Working Group should look at the issues facing people of African descent in terms of redress and the granting of special status. He said that people of African descent needed to be empowered by education, access to economic opportunities, access to and participation in the political process at the national level, and access to and proper representation in politics, the professions and the civil service. 83. Mr. Yusuf Bangura, Research Coordinator of the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) was invited to speak to the Working Group at its sixth meeting. He explained the mandate of UNRISD and its past work on the issue of racial discrimination, including several studies and publications and a two-day meeting on “Racism and public policy” held during the World Conference against Racism. With respect to the Working Group, he pointed to the need for data on the socio-economic status of people of African descent, particularly statistics regarding the group’s private sector profile, its representation in the public service and in the security sector (armed forces, police and prisons). He stated that most research was conducted in North America, and that there was a need to commission detailed and systematic research in other regions as well as on the role of the media, and how people of African descent fare under contemporary domestic migration/integration models. 84. Mr. Martins commented that applied research and data collection was important for information, knowledge and government programming, but also because it empowered civil society. Mr. Jabbour added that it was important to collect information on the political situation of people of African descent because political status was the entry point to all other rights.