E/CN.4/2003/21 page 11 56. At the second meeting, Mr. Doudou Diène, the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, presented his paper (E/CN.4/2003/WG.20/WP.2), “Promotion et signification des lieux de mémoire de l’esclavage”. He stated that the fight for human rights was the fight for memory, and as such the slave trade could be considered one of the greatest historical silences because the memory of slavery and slaves were neither preserved nor protected. To this end, he noted the importance of preserving and restoring “physical history” such as archives, buildings and forts, disembarkation spots and slave markets, cotton fields, mines and cemeteries as part of the physical memory of slavery and the slave trade. He equally argued for the pressing need to restore the spiritual and intangible memory of slaves and the slave trade for they are the “historical consciousness” of a great many people of African descent. He recommended the rehabilitation, restoration and promotion of physical places as well as intangible aspects of memory and the integration of this history in the shared memory of a nation. 57. Mr. Martins commented on the presentation by Mr. Diène and added that it was also important to preserve places of slave resistance as well. He pointed to Brazil’s experience of kilombo di palmares wherein former slaves built free societies within society, often lasting several decades. Mr. Martins also noted the importance of involving and increasing the number of researchers of African descent in the research, preservation and restoration of such national history. 58. The presentation by Mr. Diène elicited extensive interest, discussion and questions. The Working Group commended national initiatives by some countries to preserve and address their nation’s history, such as the case of Belgium where a national museum presents the history of the relations between Belgium and the Congo, and Norway for its financial support for the UNESCO Slave Route project. 59. The observer for Haiti reminded the Working Group to consider the specificity of the experiences of people of African descent in Caribbean countries, where they faced discrimination although they were often in the majority. She added that it was important to disseminate and publicize UNESCO’s publications and documents about slavery and the slave trade widely especially for those people of African descent who were unable to attend the Working Group. 60. The observer for Uruguay noted the persistent problem of “invisibility” of people of African descent in Latin America, and the fact that invisibility applied to the fact that countries were often unwilling to recognize that people of African descent experience racial discrimination. He added that the review of educational curricula which teaches all of a nation’s history was required in many Latin American countries. He informed the Working Group that Uruguay was working with OHCHR on a workshop on the implementation of the human rights of people of African descent to take place later this year. 61. The observer for Proceso de Comunidades Negras en Colombia said that it was important to look at the issues of intellectual property and also territorial rights of people of African descent in the Americas.