E/CN.4/2005/18/Add.5 page 12 32. However, the Special Rapporteur also notes that areas of poverty and economic and social marginalization correspond closely to the geographical distribution of the communities that suffer from discrimination. The steps already taken by Honduras could have a greater impact if they were backed up by the following additional measures: (a) As in the case of Guatemala, the Special Rapporteur recommends that the State, at the highest level, should formally recognize the existence and depth of racism and racial discrimination and their impact on all parts of society. This would give a strong moral and political signal to the population groups involved and the country as a whole; (b) The Honduran Government should make a firmer commitment to combating racial discrimination, particularly by developing, with the participation of the communities concerned, a comprehensive programme of action, inspired by the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, to combat racism and racial discrimination and to build a multicultural society. Effective measures should be taken to counter the most visible effects of racial discrimination in the areas of education, health and housing; (c) Efforts to combat racism and racial discrimination should be based on an information policy that is aimed at the population groups suffering from discrimination and that covers not only their rights and the remedies available but also the Government’s policies and programmes; in this context, the population groups should be informed of the Government’s international commitments in the sphere of human rights and efforts to combat racism, through the extensive dissemination of the relevant international instruments, the final document adopted at the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance held in Durban, and the periodic reports submitted by Honduras to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination; (d) The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination should be given adequate human and financial resources and should be given the task of overseeing the implementation of the comprehensive programme of action to combat racism and racial discrimination and to build a multicultural society; (e) The Honduran Ministry of Labour and Social Security should be firmer in applying the laws on underwater crayfish fishing, so that the fishermen are better protected, and should take the necessary steps to ensure that employers compensate stricken crayfish fishermen and their families; the International Labour Organization (ILO) should pay more attention to the right of Honduran crayfish fishermen to organize unions; (f) In consultation with the indigenous and Garifuna population groups, the Government should introduce a more coherent and consistent economic and social development policy for these groups; in this context, and in light of the deep-rooted history and impact of racism and discrimination at the economic, social and cultural levels, the Special Rapporteur recommends the implementation, as part of the democratic process and with the participation of the communities concerned, of a programme of positive