A/HRC/16/45/Add.1 hostile urban areas where they have few options for income generation. As many as 80 per cent of displaced Afro-Colombians live in the poorest and most dangerous areas of major cities. 26. Colombia’s Constitutional Court cites research showing that 96.5 per cent of AfroColombians registered as displaced are living below the poverty line16. According to 2005 Census data, 30 per cent of displaced Afro-Colombians did not have sufficient money to eat for at least one day a week and 69 per cent of displaced Afro-Colombian children had no access to education. 27. In Buenaventura, Colombia’s largest port, estimated to be over 90 per cent AfroColombian, private and Government interests have brought huge investment and wealth to development of the port; however the city remains among the poorest and most neglected in Colombia. Most Afro-Colombians endure poor wages and labour conditions and substandard housing. Thousands displaced from the surrounding region live in conditions of poverty. C. Responses of the Government to discrimination and poverty 28. State officials and institutions described to the independent expert a plethora of policy initiatives and programmes for Afro-Colombian communities including: the Longterm Integral Plan for Black, Afro-Colombian, Palenquera and Raizal Peoples 2006-2010; the National Development Plan “Community State: Development for All”, 2006-2010; the National Development Plan Resources 2006-2010 for Afro-Colombian People; the Goals and Advancements of the State’s Policy for the Pacific (CONPES 3491, 2007); “Affirmative Action Policy for Black or Afro-Colombian People” (CONPES 3310, 2004); and the Formulation of the Long-term Integral Plan Proposal for Black, Afro-Colombian, Palenquera and Raizal people. 29. In 2008, the Government established the Intersectoral Commission for the Advancement of the Afro-Colombian, Palenquera and Raizal People. Headed by the VicePresident, it includes key ministries and Government departments, advisors, municipal representatives, and legal representatives for Community Councils. The Commission’s objective was to evaluate living conditions and present recommendations to improve AfroColombians’ economic and social advancement and the enjoyment of their civil rights17. 30. The Commission’s recommendations seek to address issues including racism and discrimination, low participation in political life and decision-making, weak institutional capacity, inequality in education and access to employment, lack of recognition and social valuing of diversity, poor legal security of collective property rights, and limited access to subsidy programmes. Consultations with officials however revealed that implementation currently remains at the planning stages. 31. Notable in regard to international cooperation, in January 2010, Colombia and the United States signed a joint Action Plan on Racial and Ethnic Equality with the objective of cooperation to promote equality and to eliminate racial and ethnic discrimination. They are to cooperate in areas covered under bilateral initiatives and recommendations from the Intersectoral Commission. 32. Regardless of the number of Government programmes, communities and NGOs described a reality of poor consultation, weak implementation, inadequate resources and 16 17 8 Constitutional Court order 005, 2009, para. 55 Workshops reportedly took place in 17 cities and had the participation of over 4,000 representatives.