A/HRC/39/69 Guadeloupe requesting the Government to come up with protection policies for women, including education on gender relations. Mr. Balcerzak inquired about the issue of access to legal representation for victims of racism and racial discrimination, suggesting that it would require coordination with groups such as lawyers’ associations. Mr. Frans responded that there was an issue with the quality of legal aid, even though most European countries had a framework for legal aid. He called upon civil society to take up cases involving discrimination against people of African descent to build praxis in various jurisdictions upon which to rely. He encouraged the Working Group to increase cooperation with the International Bar Association and the International Association of Judges. 31. Lack of interpretation or cultural understanding of non-verbal communication for migrants of African descent who find themselves subjected to the criminal justice system, compounded by a lack of representation, was also raised as an important issue by several members of the Working Group and the panellists. Ms. Chevry emphasized the seriousness of the issue in Guadeloupe, where people of African descent might feel pressured to use the French language, leading to misinterpretation arising from subtle differences between the French and Creole languages. Ms. Petrus-Barry commented on the lack of representation of people of African descent in the judiciary in France. In Guadeloupe, civil society actors had protested and requested the Government to have quotas on media personnel, in order to have equal representation of all races, but to no avail. She also noted that people of African descent were often relegated to non-public sectors and were working in low-paid and menial jobs rather than in higher posts in the public sector. The representative of Brazil pointed to the use of and support for positive measures as an imperative for bringing about equality and representation for people of African descent, and described their application in Brazil. The speaker also called for the principle of positive measures to be incorporated in the draft declaration on the promotion and full respect of human rights of people of African descent. 32. One representative of an NGO commented on the lack of action to counter biasbased policing. Another civil society representative supported the recommendation of the Working Group that comprehensive legislation prohibiting racial profiling be adopted and racial profiling and treatment of minorities by law enforcement be monitored. Civil society representatives also raised the issue of prison conditions affecting people of African descent, given their disproportionate incarceration rates. A civil society representative called upon all Member States to implement the International Decade for People of African Descent, noting that while discussions focused on global initiatives, there were country-specific duties, which States needed to fulfil. 33. The third panel focused on the theme “Land rights for people of African descent”. In his presentation, Mr. Reid emphasized the reason that land rights should form the cornerstone of the draft declaration on the promotion and full respect of human rights of people of African descent. Mr. Reid stated that the long-term effects of a policy to exclude people of African descent from owning land were observable today. He provided examples of the British enslavers even receiving compensation money until recently, whereas the enslaved persons and their descendants were left landless in the Caribbean. Mr. Reid explained that the situation was similar in North America after emancipation. He also provided examples from Latin American countries, where the expansion of mining and petroleum activities were resulting in the expropriation of land and creating conflicts among indigenous peoples, people of African descent and others. Mr. Reid concluded his presentation with the recommendation that Member States actively consider, where possible, instituting legislation on an ancestral rights bill for people of African descent. He also recommended that Member States guarantee recognition, titling and demarcation of land belonging to people of African descent, which was aimed at resolving all outstanding land claim issues within historically black communities. Finally, he recommended that Member States remove the bureaucratic obstacles that prevented people of African descent from rightfully claiming their land. 34. The second presenter, Kimani Nehusi, Associate Professor of Africology and African American Studies at Temple University in the United States, highlighted ignorance as the main factor perpetuating structural violence against people of African descent. He provided some historical accounts of the long relationship that Africans have had with land 9