A/HRC/7/19/Add.5 A/HRC/7/23/Add.3 Page 14 39. The experts were told that rejection of blackness is very present in interpersonal relationships, even among family or friendship circles, and strongly determines social constructs. A community representative said: “Even black mothers say they want their daughters to marry a white man to improve the blood line. If you are a white man and marry a black woman, you are taking a step back.” Another one noted: “When my father saw me in my cot the first thing he said was ‘what a pity she is black’, that tells you something”. 40. Reference was often made to the social pressure that exists within the Dominican society to respect a prototype of beauty that follows white European canons. That prototype, strongly fostered by mainstream media, is also followed by many black Dominicans in order to be perceived as “whiter” or “less black”, and finds one of its most evident expressions in the widespread rejection of braids and natural hair amongst women. It was noted that light skin tones were automatically associated with high social status. 41. Historians and sociologists made reference to the way in which these social constructs are reflected in the education system and expressed concern at the fact that issues of racial prejudice are not part of the course programmes nor of the teachers’ curricula. They particularly highlighted the very limited space in school textbooks devoted to events such as colonization and slavery or the contribution of enslaved Africans and their descendants to the Dominican culture, and the common portrayal of black persons in negative stereotypical roles. 42. Despite acknowledging the important role of some sectors within the Catholic Church in the fight against racial prejudice in the country, mention was made of a general rejection of African cultural and religious expressions during Catholic rites, such as the prohibition of drumcenter music or other forms of “pagan” worship, presented as a threat to morality and Christian values. They noted, however, the importance of the recognition by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in May 2001 of the 300-year old brotherhood of Villa Mella, near Santo Domingo, which has preserved and pursued various religious beliefs with traditional African rituals. 43. Black Dominicans with whom the experts met spoke of their daily experiences of racism and discrimination, including in areas such as employment or access to leisure and social facilities. Despite the prohibition of discrimination established in the Labour Code, black Dominicans highlighted the requirement for a “good presence” in job advertisements, a requirement which is understood to be code for a white or non-black person. Several testimonies indicated the difficulties for black Dominicans in having access to skilled employment, particularly to high-visibility positions. Many people spoke of how they had been refused entrance to clubs and discothèques because of their skin colour and reference was made, in that context, to the recent public protest by the United States Ambassador in the country when an African-American member of the Embassy staff was denied entrance to a nightclub. It was also noted that by 2005, United States diplomats had already held meetings with representatives of private leisure facilities in order to protest strongly at the frequent occurrence of such incidents. 44. Manifestations of racism were also identified in the framework of expulsions and deportations. These procedures were noted to be particularly targeting those who are presumed to be “Haitians”, a determination that would be mainly based on skin colour, without distinguishing between Haitians, Dominicans of Haitian descent and black Dominicans with no