A/HRC/30/56 must be applied to uplift millions of African descendants and Africans, who had been perceived only through the devaluing prism of race and racial discrimination. 17. Patrice Tacita, a lawyer and poet belonging to the group Liyannaj Kont Pwofitasyon from Guadeloupe, lectured on “History, justice and development: the Kalinas’s land case”. He provided an overview of the case, which entailed the appropriation of land in Daubin, in the municipality of Sainte-Rose in Guadeloupe, by descendants of slave owners. Mr. Tacita informed the session that the Kalina people, who were people of African descent, had been dispossessed of their ancestral lands during the enslavement and since that time had been unable to reclaim their land owing to lack of recognition of the Kalina people as a distinct group of African descent with their own culture and tradition, as well as to discrimination in the administration of justice. He suggested that a legal approach to addressing the land issue in Guadeloupe was the way to restore what had been destroyed by enslavement followed by colonialism. He expressed hope that the Working Group would consider the case of the Kalina people in their struggle for the return of their dispossessed land. 18. The Director of the Regional Centre for Latin America and the Caribbean of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Rebeca Arias, made a statement on video on “The state of development of people of African descent in Latin America and the Caribbean region”. She stated that people of African descent in the region reflected a higher incidence of poverty, unemployment, low levels of schooling and worse health and housing problems along with the racial discrimination and lack of representation and participation faced by people of African descent. UNDP focused on prioritizing efforts to eliminate poverty and overcome inequality and exclusion in the region. The lack of participation of women of African descent in decision-making positions was a key challenge in addressing inequality in the region. Ms. Arias recommended promoting affirmative action policies and international cooperation as important ways to promote and protect the rights of people of African descent in the region. 19. During the interactive discussion a number of participants asked the panellists questions relating to the implementation of the right to development and sought more information on the Kalina people from Mr. Tacita. 20. The second panel discussion focused on the specific needs and experiences of people of African descent in the areas of education, housing, health and employment. Mr. Balcerzak, member of the Working Group, presented the topic, “Towards more effective implementation of economic, social and cultural rights of people of African descent: challenges and perspectives”. He laid emphasis on the areas of education, employment, health and housing in the programme of activities of the International Decade for People of African Descent and suggested the inclusion of cultural rights as part and parcel of a human rights approach to development. He also emphasized fostering recognition of human rights among societies through education. There was an important need for more engagement with the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Mr. Balcerzak highlighted the importance of the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which introduced the individual complaint mechanism in relation to the rights enshrined in the Covenant. He expressed hope that in the framework of the Decade the Working Group would have an opportunity to encourage regional organizations to take more interest in the economic and social rights of people of African descent. 21. Rebekah Thomas of the World Health Organization delivered a statement on the topic, “Ethnicity and health: Afro-descendant population in the region of the Americas”. Ms. Thomas pointed out that communicable diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted infections or tuberculosis, continued to be an important cause of morbidity and mortality among people of African descent in the Americas, chronic degenerative diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and cancers, were on the rise — together with urban health problems (external causes such as violence, suicides and accidents; alcoholism and drug 5