A/HRC/16/45/Add.1 an additional 454,152 hectares. In aggregate, that is an estimated five per cent of the national territory. 11. Afro-Colombian land rights under Law 70 do not include rights to renewable and non-renewable natural resources or rights to the subsoil. However, under the provisions related to use of the land and protection of natural resources and the environment, article 24 establishes that “For purposes of land resource exploitation priority will be given to proposals from members of the Black Communities”. 12. The newly elected Government of Juan Manuel Santos has announced that it is giving a high priority to human rights and that significant progress has been made towards a human rights National Action Plan6. A National Development Plan currently under discussion has a chapter devoted to human rights. The new Government has created a Presidential Programme for Afro-Colombian Affairs whose Director is Afro-Colombian and has committed to form a High Level Commission responsible for recommendations to improve the living conditions of ethnic minorities. Human rights provisions already exist in a number of public policy instruments at the national and provincial levels. There is currently a human rights policy for the Ministry of Defence. 13. In 2000, the Presidential Programme for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law was created under the Vice Presidency7. Its objective was to design a national policy that would increase collaboration among Government institutions, including the offices of the Procurator General, the Attorney General, the Superior Council of the Judiciary, the Ombudsman, the National Planning Department, and the Ministry of the Interior and Justice. 14. The Office of the Ombudsman (Defensoría del Pueblo) is independent, in compliance with the Paris Principles, and has responsibility for ensuring the protection and promotion of human rights. The Ombudsman has a Division for Ethnic Minorities. It reports annually on human rights issues to the Congress of the Republic, receives complaints and provides assistance, information, and public defence lawyers for criminal processes. The Ombudsman has established an important early warning/risk assessment system. The Office of the Attorney General has established a unit for the prosecution of human rights and international humanitarian law violations. 15. Colombia has ratified human rights treaties most relevant to minorities including the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. Article 93 of the Constitution establishes that international human rights treaties and agreements have primacy in domestic law and that the Constitution must be interpreted in conformity with them. IV. Discrimination and poverty A. Discrimination and racism 16. The legacy of slavery endures and is manifested in socially and economically marginalized communities facing racist attitudes and structural discrimination. The Government acknowledges that: “Afro-Colombian and indigenous communities are still 6 7 Despite the current suspension of the National Action Plan consultation process, some 27 Government institutions worked towards content of the Plan for eventual consultation with civil society. Available at http://colombiaemb.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=39 5