E/CN.4/2003/24 page 12 22. At the opening of the Conference, the Special Rapporteur was appalled to observe that a motion presented by an NGO group requested the exclusion of participants, duly invited and registered, on the basis of explicit racial criteria. At the plenary, the Special Rapporteur was the first to express his profound opposition to the motion which, in his view, was contrary to the fundamental United Nations principle of non-discrimination on the basis of race, nationality or ethnic origin, therefore defeating the very purpose and spirit of the World Conference against Racism, which this event intended to follow up on. The Special Rapporteur formally indicated his decision to leave the Conference were it to be endorsed. Participants in the Conference were called to vote on the motion, which resulted in the endorsement of the proposal and the expulsion of participants from the plenary, including interpreters, journalists and NGO delegates. Mixed-race national delegations were hence divided on racial lines. 23. As a consequence, on 3 October 2002, the Government of Barbados which on the basis of its very active role at the Durban Conference, confirmed by facilities for the organization of the Conference, and its policy of building a multiracial society, issued a press statement in which it strongly condemned the decision adopted at the Conference. The United Nations Resident Coordinator in Barbados and the Special Rapporteur withdrew both their participation and their previously expressed endorsement of the Conference, through an official note sent to the Chairperson of the Central Organizing Committee of the Conference on 4 October 2002. E. Participation in Brazil’s black awareness week 24. On 21 November 2002, at the invitation of the Brazilian Government, the Special Rapporteur took part in the inauguration of the National Centre for Information and Reference on Afro-Brazilian Culture in Brasilia, with President Fernando Enrique Cardoso and the President of the World Bank, Mr. John Wolfensohn, who was visiting Brazil. The Special Rapporteur considers that this invitation was a remarkable symbolic message on the part of a country determined to face up to and find radical and sustainable solutions to a historical heritage marked by racial discrimination, the founding principle of the slave system. The representatives of the Afro-Brazilian community, and of the Palmares Foundation in particular, whom the Special Rapporteur also met, confirmed this assessment. Brazil has launched a vast programme of affirmative action or corrective measures on behalf of its population of African origin, essentially in the areas of education and access to public posts, in particular diplomatic careers. Several laws and decrees recently adopted at the federal level (including Act No. 10,558 of 13 November 2002 and Ministry of Culture Decree No. 484 of 22 August 2002) establish a quota of 20 per cent of places for Afro-Brazilians in universities and public posts. The Government’s intention is also to make an impact on public sector companies by granting preferential contracts to companies which make efforts to implement this policy of corrective measures. Much remains to be done and the Special Rapporteur proposes to follow these efforts closely and to encourage their continuation. F. Participation in the first session of the Working Group of experts on people of African descent 25. The Special Rapporteur was invited to take part from 25 to 29 November 2002, in the first session of the Working Group of experts on people of African descent. In particular he explained the important and complex question of redress for populations of African descent to