E/CN.4/2004/18/Add.3 page 11 II. PRESENTATION OF THE SITUATION BY THE COMMUNITIES CONCERNED 32. The representatives of the indigenous peoples, the Afro-Colombian and Raizal communities, as well as the Roma, have stated the Government’s efforts to improve their situation remain insufficient. They described their respective situations by providing figures on the impact of the domestic conflict on members of their communities. They drew attention to the precarious economic and social conditions in which they lived and the persistence of an ethnocentric culture that tended to place emphasis on Colombia’s Hispanic heritage and to marginalize the diverse contributions of the indigenous peoples, Afro-Colombians and the Roma to the creation of the Colombian nation, in spite of the fact that the Constitution proclaims that Colombia is a multicultural State. A. Situation of the indigenous peoples 33. The representatives of the indigenous peoples expressed their dissatisfaction to the Special Rapporteur regarding their economic and social situation and their relations with the Government. They consider that the national and local authorities do not respect the autonomy that they have been granted by texts (particularly Act No. 152/94). They believe that the indigenous territories are in a state of economic, political, social and environmental emergency owing to the increase in poverty and the diseases that are rife in their communities, and the lack of respect for their way of life, which is highly dependent on the natural environment. National and local development plans do not take account of the aspirations of the indigenous peoples, and the exploitation of natural resources, particularly oil and wood, without the consent of the populations concerned encroaches on their territorial rights and is harmful to their environment. In general, the level of education in the resguardos is low owing to a lack of teachers and educational facilities. B. Situation of the Afro-Colombian Raizal communities 34. The impact of government policies on the economic and social situation of Afro-Colombians is still weak. Representatives of the Afro-Colombian communities consider that the progress made by previous Governments in support of their communities has eroded. In its communication, the Government acknowledges that 82 per cent of Afro-Colombians continue to live in conditions where basic needs (running water, electricity, sanitation and so on) were not met; and that the illiteracy rate among the Afro-Colombian population is three times higher than that of the rest of the population (43 per cent in rural areas and 20 per cent in urban areas as opposed to 23.4 per cent and 7.3 per cent, respectively, for the rest of the population); out of 100 Afro-Colombian young people, only 2 go on to higher studies; the infant mortality rate is 151 per thousand, while the national average is 39 per thousand; and 76 per cent of Afro-Colombians live in conditions of extreme poverty and 42 per cent are unemployed. The department of Chocó, where the Special Rapporteur visited Quibdó, the principal city, is symbolic in this regard. Quibdó, which concentrates all the problems faced by Afro-Colombian communities, seems to have been abandoned. Similarly, in Cartagena, the beautiful Caribbean tourist resort, there are many pockets of poverty in which Afro-Colombians live. The same situation can be seen in the streets of Cali and the huge shantytown of Agua Blanca in which 600,000 people live in very unhealthy conditions.