A/HRC/36/60 disproportionately concentrated in the poorest areas with the highest housing deficit, and suffered greater exposure to crime and violence and had higher levels of unemployment. In addition, the situation of structural discrimination was confirmed by the indicators on access to housing, loans, quality health care and education, life expectancy and nutrition status, among others. There was a strong connection between poverty and race and between race and class; these categories intertwined and deepened the serious situation of Afrodescendant people, including men, women, youth, people with disabilities and Afrodescendant lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people. Racial profiling, excessive use of force and racial discrimination in the judicial system had an important impact on the inequality affecting people of African descent in the region. He concluded by calling upon Member States in the region to ratify the Inter-American Convention against Racism, Racial Discrimination and Related Intolerance and the Inter-American Convention against All Forms of Discrimination and Intolerance. 27. During the interactive session, Mr. Gumedze asked Ms. Gbedemah how the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women could play an important role in uplifting women of African descent in the diaspora. Mr. Reid asked Mr. Quesada about his thoughts on the Caribbean Community’s 10-point action plan on reparations and whether it could help in eliminating disparities within the region. In response, Ms. Gbedemah said that she had been encouraged by States’ acceptance of the recommendations adopted by the Committee. Mr. Quesada said that the 10-point plan had not been well communicated to the broader region, although Spain had issued an apology to indigenous communities. The representative of Colombia shared information on measures taken in Colombia to improve the economic living conditions of communities of people of African descent. The representative of Brazil reported that Brazil had adopted a national security plan with a focus on homicide levels, particularly among Afro-Brazilians. The representative also reported on the implementation of affirmative action programmes to ensure equitable racial representation in education. The representative of Cuba stated that attainment of Sustainable Development Goal 10 required international cooperation and a fairer economic order. The representative of the European Union said that all the Goals were mutually reinforcing, but Goal 10 was particularly relevant and gender issues must be promoted in all relevant policy actions. Ms. Gbedemah called for development aid to be linked to equality for women, while Mr. Sunga called for establishing linkages between development aid and reparatory justice, as well as participation of people of African descent in the formulation of aid policies. Representatives of civil society raised a number of issues pertaining to the impact of the Mental Health Act on women in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, violence and disappearances of women in the United States, and the plight of refugee and migrant women in Europe and their respective challenges. 28. The third panel discussion covered Sustainable Development Goal 4 on ensuring inclusive and quality education for all and promoting lifelong learning, along with Goal 8 on promoting sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all. Mr. Reid emphasized the relevance of the strategy on inclusive education outlined in the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, as racism, racial discrimination, Afrophobia and related intolerance were endemic to many education systems globally, leading to severe inequalities in access to and retention of schooling, which directly violated the principles of human rights and dignity. A large number of the Goals would not be attained without inclusive education, just as racism and racial/ethnic discrimination would continue to function as structural and systemic barriers to sustainable development. He concluded by pointing out that unequal access to key educational resources, including skilled teachers and quality curriculums, different learning opportunities and the discriminatory nature of the disciplining of children of African descent all had an impact on their educational attainment. 29. Ms. Gbedemah said that education was very important to her Committee. She focused her presentation on the right of access to education, rights within education and rights through education. The Committee had called for increased opportunities for indigenous women to gain access to educational institutions and public institutions. She also pointed to existing rural-urban differentials, class differentials and gender differentials that had contributed to differences in educational outcomes for girls. Individuals, because 8