A/HRC/54/71 African Canadian education, promotes understanding of African Canadians and their history, heritage, culture, traditions and contributions to society. 6. Through Executive Decree No. 915, Ecuador declared the International Decade for People of African Descent a national policy. Ecuador also elaborated the Agenda for the Equal Rights of Indigenous Nationalities and Peoples, Afro-Ecuadorian People and Montubio People 2019–2021.8 Ecuador’s Constitution of 2008 contains specific provisions to protect the human rights of people of African descent, including recognition of their collective rights. Through Executive Decree No. 60, the Plurinational Plan for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and Ethnic and Cultural Exclusion was adopted with a view to minimizing rates of discrimination and exclusion and improving the situation of populations that have historically suffered discrimination (indigenous, Afro-Ecuadorian and Montubio peoples), including affirmative action measures.9 7. In Germany, the National Action Plan against Racism explicitly refers to increased efforts by Government in the fight against racial discrimination and the recognition of people of African descent, in view of the proclamation of the International Decade for People of African Descent. The National Action Plan also includes measures in the field of political education and research as well as awareness-raising in relation to the colonial past.10 8. Guyana has set aside the month of August for Emancipation Month. The Working Group welcomed the formation of the Guyana Reparations Committee and the Government’s commitment to fund it, and the civil society-led initiative to coordinate the programmes, plans and events for the International Decade for People of African Descent in Guyana. The Government has also made a call for the submission of funding proposals for activities relating to the International Decade for People of African Descent in Guyana. 11 9. Italy’s legal framework includes a range of criminal, civil and administrative provisions to combat racism and incitement to racial hatred. In particular, the Mancino Law, allows judges to increase a sentence if the crime was committed with the purpose of discrimination or hatred based on ethnicity, nationality, race or religion. It also makes it a crime to “instigate in any way or commit violence or acts of provocation to violence for racist, ethnic, national or religious motives”, and to “propagate ideas based on racial superiority or racial or ethnic hatred, or to instigate to commit or commit acts of discrimination for racial, ethnic, national or religious motives.”12 10. In the Netherlands, the Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations sends the House of Representatives a yearly letter on action taken to combat discrimination and is also responsible for the Municipal Anti-Discrimination Services Act. All the municipalities report to the Ministry of the Interior every year about complaints on discrimination. 13 The Netherlands has a proactive approach in the collection of disaggregated data, including by ethnicity.14 11. Panama adopted a Presidential Decree providing for the creation of the Executive Secretariat of the National Council of the Black Ethnic Community – a Presidential advisory body responsible for addressing certain aspects of the disparities that affect people of African descent.15 The Ministry of Education noted that in the new curricular contents for basic and secondary education includes areas of knowledge related to the history and contributions of Afro-descendants to Panamanian society.16 In 2010, for the first time self-identification as a person of African descent was possible in the census questionnaire.17 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 28 A/HRC/45/44/Add.1, paras. 21–22. A/HRC/45/44/Add.1, para. 15. A/HRC/36/60/Add.2, para. 22. A/HRC/39/69/Add.1, para. 19. A/HRC/33/61/Add.1, paras. 25–27. A/HRC/30/56/Add.1, para. 43. A/HRC/30/56/Add.1, para.51. A/HRC/24/52/Add.2, para. 17. A/HRC/24/52/Add.2, para. 33. A/HRC/24/52/Add.2, paras. 4–6. GE.23-15301