A/HRC/7/36 page 3 I. INTRODUCTION 1. The Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent held its seventh session from 14 to 18 January 2007 at the United Nations Office at Geneva. 2. The Director of Operations, Programmes and Research Division opened the session. The Working Group elected Peter Lesa Kasanda as its Chairperson-Rapporteur. 3. The present report reflects the general course of the debate. II. ORGANIZATION OF THE SESSION 4. At its seventh session, the Working Group held eight public meetings and one private meeting. It was attended by the following members: Peter Lesa Kasanda (Chairperson-Rapporteur), Joe Frans, Georges Nicolas Jabbour, and Irina Moroianu-Zlătescu; observers from 41 Member States and 1 observer from a non-Member State, 6 non-governmental organizations and 1 intergovernmental organization (see annexes I and II for the list of participants and the agenda).1 III. SUMMARY OF DELIBERATIONS 5. The Director of Operations delivered the opening address. 6. The Director of Operations declared that, since the World Conference on Racism in Durban in 2001, progress has been made but important challenges still persisted. She pointed out that people of African descent were often the least favoured when it came to access to education, housing and employment. In 2009, the Durban Review Conference would be held, an opportunity to measure how far progress has been made in fulfilling the laudable commitments established in Durban in 2001. People of African descent around the world in the diaspora, as well as in Africa, could benefit in their daily lives from the recommendations that the Working Group made to the Preparatory Committee for the Durban Review Conference. 7. She pointed out that the lack of disaggregated data disadvantages the people of African descent, as neither a clear understanding of the state of affairs nor a viable and comprehensive solution can be arrived at without accurate disaggregate data. She reminded the room that racial profiling was a serious problem that affected people of African descent. The Director of Operations expressed her certainty that the resulting document would be a significant tool to advance the fight against racism suffered by people of African descent. 8. The Chairperson-Rapporteur thanked the Director of Operations and the experts for electing him as the Chairperson. He stated that the scourges that did so much harm must be tackled head-on and that week was an opportunity to redouble efforts. He welcomed the invitation of the Preparatory Committee made to the human rights mechanisms, such as the Working Group of Experts, to assist by undertaking and submitting recommendations through 1 All working papers submitted by the experts and participants are available at the Secretariat or can be found on the OHCHR website: www2.ohchr.org.