E/CN.4/2005/18/Add.2 page 12 27. The Special Rapporteur finds that the Government’s legal strategy and the institutional provisions introduced to combat racism and racial discrimination, while they do represent some progress, are ambiguous, since the present institutions and mechanisms, because of their links to the executive, do not have the independence they need to be effective, and they lack democratic legitimacy. They also lack the financial resources needed for their work. 28. The Special Rapporteur was particularly struck by the lack of an intellectual and ethical strategy to combat racism and discrimination. Neither the structure nor the content of Guatemala’s system of education has been subjected to deconstruction with a view to analysing the history of racism, its origin, its mechanisms, its process, its expressions and manifestations. History, for example, which is the workshop for the discriminatory and racist construction of identities, does not appear to have been revisited, either in its written form or in the way in which it is taught. The mirror of identity, reflected by the media, ensures that indigenous people and people of African descent remain historically invisible as part of the heritage of discrimination and racism. The system of dominant values marginalizes the traditional cultural and spiritual values and practices of these groups. The task of building a genuine form of multiculturalism that is egalitarian, interactive and democratic therefore constitutes a major challenge for Guatemalan society. III. DESCRIPTION OF NATIONAL INSTITUTIONS, VIEW OF THE UNITED NATIONS AND PRESENTATION OF THEIR SITUATION BY THE POPULATION GROUPS CONCERNED 29. The views expressed by the Presidential Human Rights Commission, the Presidential Commission on Discrimination and Racism against Indigenous Peoples and representatives of indigenous peoples and communities all condemn the persistence of racism and racial discrimination, notwithstanding the reforms under way and the current legislation. According to the representatives of these institutions and communities, racism continues to permeate mentalities and is reflected not only in personal relationships but also in the way that politics, the economy, society, the judiciary and communications are organized. The assessment by the United Nations country team reaches the same conclusion, observing that: 30. “Guatemala remains a fragile State that is unable, through its public policies, to overcome discrimination and ensure due respect for the country’s ethnic diversity. Discrimination is still evident in several areas of national life. It mainly affects indigenous peoples, women, children, young persons and adults … Public investment has not been targeted in such a way as to foster equal opportunities and development; on the contrary, it encourages further racial and social discrimination. Public policies to eliminate poverty and social exclusion have little impact and have not been able to close the gap between rich and poor.”11 A. Situation of indigenous peoples and people of African descent in general 31. Several of the individuals the Special Rapporteur talked to pointed out that several attempts were made during the armed conflict to weaken the Mayan people and indeed to question whether they really are a people. The lives of members of this people and their ability to reproduce were directly jeopardized by military action. Their living conditions and their