A/HRC/10/11/Add.2 page 13 emerged from such processes.15 It notes that the Ethnic Relations Commission has investigated claims of discrimination but that none have been substantiated. The Department of Labour also has the authority to investigate such claims and to take corrective actions. There have been no such cases reported in the last five years. 33. The Government emphasizes that the constitutional reform process of 1999 to 2003 engaged thousands of people in cross-country consultations, led by the multiparty parliamentary Constitutional Reform Commission. Guyana prides itself on the process and the comprehensive nature of the constitutional reform as being the most distinct in the Caribbean region. Of note is that the human rights section of the Constitution is entrenched and any person can go to the courts on a constitutional motion on any perceived or real violation of their human rights. 34. However, the independent expert encountered claims of widespread and institutionalized discrimination against members of the Afro-Guyanese community and indigenous peoples. Some described the “victimization” of poor Afro-Guyanese and an informal system of rights and privileges in society to which they lack access. Others believe that long-term and deeply entrenched exclusion has resulted in the significant degeneration of sectors of Afro-Guyanese communities. The manifestations of that exclusion are increasing poverty and the attendant social problems such acts as robberies, assaults and killings, domestic violence, rape and substance abuse. A. Employment and economic activity 35. Discrimination in employment and economic activities are considered to be endemic problems by numerous Afro-Guyanese who spoke with the independent expert. Public sector employment has historically been predominantly Afro-Guyanese while the private sector is owned by and employs a significantly higher proportion of Indo-Guyanese. Economic reforms since the late 1980s resulted in the privatization of previously public-sector industries, reducing the public-sector workforce,16 with a disproportionate impact on Afro-Guyanese jobs. Wages in the public sector are low in comparison to the private sector. Interviews reflected a perception that more Indo-Guyanese have been recruited or appointed to senior and influential positions in the public sector, police and military than Africans, fueling perceptions among Afro-Guyanese of Indo-Guyanese control of national public institutions. 36. There is a widely held belief among Afro-Guyanese that a “criminal economy” exists that is manifested in corrupt practices, unregulated activities and collusion with criminal elements. 15 The Government has attached a list of ERC reports which are publicly available and which also posted on the Ethnic Relations Commission website; http://www.ethnicrelations.org.gy; http://www.ethnicrelations.org.gy/publications.php; http://www.ethnicrelations.org.gy/publications.php#reports; http://www.ethnicrelations.org.gy/pressr.php. 16 The Economist Country Profile for Guyana in 2007 notes that the number of employees in central government and the State-run enterprises fell from over 55,000 in 1993 to around 35,000 by 1999 and continues to decline.