A/HRC/30/56 74. The Working Group urges States to develop public policies that do not keep people of African descent and African countries in a state of economic dependence but rather ensure that they benefit from development on an equal footing with the rest of the population and the developed countries, while at the same time respecting their sociocultural differences. 75. The inclusion of reparations should be in line with the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, which recognizes the contribution of historical injustices to contemporary poverty, underdevelopment, marginalization, social exclusion, economic disparities, instability and insecurity, in particular in developing countries, and the need to develop programmes for the social and economic development of these societies and the diaspora. 76. The Working Group encourages people of African descent and the African diaspora to pursue domestic redress for racism, racial discrimination, Afrophobia, xenophobia and related intolerance that impede development. 77. At the same time, the Working Group encourages people of African descent to celebrate the achievements of their ancestors and honour their memory through the truth and acknowledgement of that history which continue to undermine societies. Such strategies would represent means of self-awareness and sociocultural development. 78. The International Decade for People of African Descent should be used to build bridges of understanding and reconnect the diaspora with the continent of Africa in order to address the feelings of loss, lack of identity and absence of indigenous knowledge that plague people of African descent in the diaspora. 79. The Working Group recommends that during the International Decade for People of African Descent, the International Forum for People of African Descent should be the platform for States, civil society and the United Nations to plan concrete action for the total recognition of the rights of people of African descent. The Working Group is concerned that the Forum is not a permanent forum. 80. The Working Group looks forward to contributing to the establishment of the International Forum for People of African Descent and to the process of developing and drafting the declaration on people of African descent under the auspices of the International Decade for People of African Descent, including through its active participation in the Forum. 15