E/CN.4/2004/21 page 11 57. Ms. Taylor-Thompson commented on the underrepresentation of people of African descent as jurors or decision-makers in justice systems. This underrepresentation, along with the overrepresentation of people of African descent in prison, called into question the integrity of the justice system and its verdicts. There was often a connection between the ethnic or racial background of a juror and his or her perception of the guilt of the accused. Her recommendations included: that States develop mechanisms to ensure that a cross-section of the community was represented in juries; that States support community oversight bodies; that States develop and adopt affirmative selection to ensure that all citizens serve on juries; and that unanimous verdicts be required in cases so that all parties are heard. 58. At the sixth meeting, the observer for South Africa (on behalf of the African Group) stated that the programme of work of the Working Group must address the “conditions of hopelessness” in the daily lives of people of African descent. The observer for Ethiopia added that it was important to consider the historical background of people of African descent because it was linked to their continued marginalization. 59. The observer for Sweden commented on the low participation of national institutions in the sessions of the Working Group, especially in view of the fact that they had a lot to contribute on the thematic issues being addressed during the third session. She also raised the issue of the session’s emphasis on the Anglo-Saxon judicial court tradition, which was not relevant to many civil law (continental legal) jurisdictions; it was important for the Working Group to make “universal” recommendations. She also queried whether the fact that jurors received no remuneration had any implications for the underrepresentation of people of African descent on juries. She wondered how it could be firmly established that the bias of prosecutors was the sole reason for the elimination of potential jurors of African descent. She asked how “unanimous verdicts”, as recommended by Ms. Taylor-Thompson, could be put into practice. 60. The observer for the Syrian Arab Republic advised that it was important to be critical about one’s own legal system as well as criticize others. Ms. Taylor-Thompson agreed, adding that the role of judges in non-jury systems must also be explored. Remuneration was indeed a factor in the underrepresentation of people of African descent on juries and it was the role of the State to make serving on juries less of an economic burden. She added that the inclusion by prosecutors of potential jurors on the basis of employment was, in effect, often a racial indicator by proxy. 61. Both the observer for Uruguay and the observer for the African Society of Comparative and International Law agreed with the observer for Sweden that it was important for the Working Group to make “universal” recommendations applicable to all jurisdictions, whether the legal system was based on the civil/continental or Anglo-Saxon tradition. States should acknowledge that freedom, liberty, dignity and justice knew no colour. 62. The observer for the Association of World Citizens raised the issue of training law students and internships for young lawyers on these access-to-justice issues. Ms. Souleliac agreed that internships for young lawyers were a very good idea.