E/CN.4/2003/21 page 18 2. The Working Group believes that the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action provides a good framework for understanding the issues of racial discrimination facing people of African descent. 3. The historical and contemporary experiences of people of African descent show that, whilst they share similarities, people of African descent nevertheless represent a diverse community in different continents reflecting different stages of development and with different issues, needs and expectations; these variations should be acknowledged and further studied. 4. The Working Group notes that people of African descent are largely invisible because they are often absent or excluded with respect to domestic data collection, statistical analysis and programming, as well as national public life and depiction in the media. In this context, the Working Group also wishes to emphasize that, while some countries acknowledge the existence of people of African descent, there is a tendency to deny that people of African descent experience racial discrimination. 5. The Working Group is of the view that understanding of the situation of people of African descent in various regions is a process that has just begun within the United Nations framework. The continued mandate of the Working Group would be greatly enhanced by on-site regional briefings and interaction with people of African-descent communities, NGOs, government officials, national institutions and academic institutes, in order to assemble primary and secondary information first-hand. The experiences of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations and the Working Group on Minorities of the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights is illustrative in this regard. 6. The Working Group was enlightened by the information provided by the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance on the impact of slavery and the slave trade on the societies where they took place, the issue of reparation, and the contributions of people of African descent to their own liberation and to the development of their countries. 7. The Working Group is of the view that there is an intrinsic link between its work and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) intercultural project “The Slave Route”. This project is an achievement in terms of its dissemination of the history of people of African descent and the study and depiction of their contributions to their countries. The Working Group specifically recommends that information about this contribution be widely disseminated by UNESCO and Governments. The Working Group invites UNESCO to report at its meetings on the progress made on this project. 8. The Working Group is of the view that there is an intrinsic link between its work and the International Labour Organization’s Conventions, in particular the work of the ILO in addressing the discrimination faced in the workplace by people of African descent.