A/HRC/42/59 regard to data collection on people of African descent. He refuted the argument that there were no people of African descent in the Asian region. Nevertheless, no Asian country had yet invited the Working Group for a country visit or responded to a call for information sent out by the Working Group. Only through data collection would the Working Group obtain a clearer picture of all the challenges faced by people of African descent in the Asian region, thereby allowing for appropriate solutions to be formulated. 43. Shihan de Silva Jayasuriya, a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, explored the history of people of African descent in the South Asian region. Over a period of 1,100 years almost 12.5 million people of African descent had entered the Asian region. The history of people of African descent in Asia might go back even further, with an estimated 2,000 years of contact between South Asians and people of African descent. The migration of people of African descent to Asia derived from two streams, enslavement and the free flow of peoples. People of African descent had held a wide range of positions within South Asian societies, from enslaved persons to highranking positions as monarchs of sovereign kingdoms in South Asia. While marriage had diminished the total number of people of African descent visibly identifiable in South Asia, there still existed a significant number of people of African descent that needed to be empowered and made visible to society through policy changes at the governmental level. 44. During the interactive discussion, Ms. Jayasuriya said that education through schools and films was necessary to raise the visibility of people of African descent in the Asian region. Mr. Murillo Martínez said that art and culture were also positive vehicles for people of African descent to manifest their cultural identity. Mr. Sunga added that more data from Asian countries was required under the mapping exercise and hoped the call made by the Working Group would be extended further. When asked about the status of people of African descent in the Pacific region (Melanesians), Mr. Sunga said their situation was comparable to that of West Papuans, and in his view so long as they selfidentified as being people of African descent they would fall under the mandate of the Working Group. On a question from a civil society representative about the population of North Sentinel Island, in the Andaman Islands, Mr. Reid said the Working Group had been notified of the Jarawa people in India. 45. The sixth and final panel focused on data and racial justice. Geoff Palmer, Professor Emeritus in the School of Life Sciences at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland, and human rights activist, focused his presentation on enslavement and reparatory justice through the lens of Scotland and the University of Glasgow. He traced the University of Glasgow’s chequered history with enslavement in Jamaica and the role played by Scotland. The University of Glasgow was said to have received funding from slave owners through donations and other forms that amounted to a total of £200 million in today’s money. To atone for its role in enslavement, the University was today increasing admissions of people of African descent and other minorities and awarding them scholarships, among other initiatives. Mr. Palmer noted that the interest in researching the role of Scotland in enslavement did not stem from the academic community; rather, it was the people of Scotland that had shown great interest in that history. The crimes of the past could not be changed but reparative justice could contribute to building a better future. 46. In his presentation, Mr. Gumedze highlighted the importance of understanding the various forms of intersectionality of discrimination faced by people of African descent. The three pillars of the International Decade for People of African Descent – Recognition, Justice and Development – represented important tools for the betterment of the lives of people of African descent. While racial justice might mean different things to different people, it would always include full enjoyment of all human rights and freedoms by everyone without distinction of any kind. Mr. Gumedze stressed the importance of data collection with regard to racial injustice and urged States to collect, compile, analyse, disseminate and publish reliable statistical data at the national and local levels. 47. Ms. Shepherd emphasized the importance of data in racial justice. Data in national archives and libraries across the world had helped to shed light on what had truly transpired during the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans. Nearly 50 per cent of all people of African descent taken into enslavement perished crossing the Atlantic. Slavery was a result of racism, racism was not a product of slavery. Discussing the two wars for liberation and 11