E/CN.4/2004/18/Add.3 page 15 displaced population. Aside from displacement per se, girls and women are victims of ill-treatment ranging from forced recruitment into illegal forces to rape and illegal confinement for domestic work. 50. Owing to its extent, the phenomenon of displacement is one of the most serious humanitarian problems facing Colombia as a result of the domestic armed conflict. This phenomenon constitutes not only a serious violation of human, civil and political rights but also, and especially, increases the poverty and vulnerability of populations by destroying their social structures and human capital. The autonomy of the communities and the representativeness of their traditional authorities have been considerably affected by the conflict. Displaced persons often lose their economic resources and live an uprooted life, frequently falling into extreme poverty and indigence. IV. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 51. The Special Rapporteur has found that, more than 10 years after Colombia’s recognition of its ethnic and cultural diversity, and in spite of the adoption of laws and the establishment of promising institutions, the situation of the indigenous peoples, Afro-Colombian communities and the Roma remains precarious. The domestic conflict, which taps the largest part of the State’s resources, poses a serious obstacle to the implementation of otherwise well-prepared policies. Aside from the relative progress in granting land titles to the Afro-Colombian communities, the economic and social conditions of these populations remain a cause for concern. Moreover, not all of the population has necessarily understood the meaning of Colombian’s cultural diversity and holds on to prejudices against certain groups. For this reason, the Special Rapporteur has formulated the following recommendations: (a) In order to achieve a lasting solution to the crisis in Colombia, the Government and all persons active in political life should devote themselves to the fundamental objective of building a society based on solidarity instead of the current security-obsessed society, through: (i) Linkage of any lasting political solution to the conflict with the promotion of respect for human rights; (ii) Recognition of the deep-rooted historical legacy of racism and discrimination and its economic, social and political consequences; (iii) Democratic preparation of a national programme to combat racism, discrimination and xenophobia, based on the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action; (b) The Special Rapporteur wishes to stress the need to adopt urgent and priority measures, supported by appropriate budgetary resources, to alleviate and put an end to the precarious economic and social situation of the communities most vulnerable to political violence, particularly in the areas of housing, health, education and work;