A/HRC/33/61 commitment to the creation of a forum for people of African descent, the adoption of a United Nations declaration on the rights of people of African descent and the convening of the fourth World Conference against Racism. 42. Ms. Fanon Mendes-France in her statement emphasized the need to take stock of the work done in the past 15 years to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, Afrophobia and related intolerance. She questioned the idea of universality and argued that the domination of European views, as well as globalization, resulting in resistance to the applicability of the principle of universality in the realization of rights by all. She underscored the importance of the Durban Declaration and its Programme of Action, as well as its interlinkages with the work of the Working Group in the context of the International Decade. She said that addressing the legacies of the past, including the commodification of people of African descent and its continuing impact on the African continent, was a huge undertaking. She highlighted the importance of just reparations and suggested that archives on the slave trade, enslavement, colonization and colonialism be opened. She said that the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action and the International Decade served as guides for combating racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and Afrophobia, for making societies truly pluralistic and rights truly universal for all. 43. The sixth panel discussion focused on the topic of combating racial stereotyping. Ms. Fanon Mendes-France gave an overview of the Working Group’s efforts to examine stereotypes faced by people of African descent. They included the study of the role of the Black figure in public space, including the role of the Swarte Piet (Black Pete) character in the Sinterklaas festival in the Netherlands, before and after the visit of the Working Group to the Netherlands in 2014, as well as the study of the prevalence of such stereotypes in different parts of the world. She presented highlights of a paper by Verene Shepherd, former member of the Working Group, on the Black Pete tradition in the Netherlands, including its origins and the ongoing debate surrounding it. Mr. Sunga spoke about the prevalence of racial stereotypes in the Asian region, giving a number of examples from the media and advertisements. The stereotypes could be explained partly by a lack of recognition of people of African descent who had arrived in the region through the slave trade or through various forms of migration and an absence of any acknowledgement of African contributions to Asian society. Mr. Balcerzak spoke about the stereotyping of people of African descent in Central and Eastern Europe. He said that stereotypes were the result of limited knowledge, misinterpretations, a lack of education, and the portrayal of people of African descent in the media, and provided examples from Poland. Ms. Fanon Mendes-France gave several examples of stereotypes in Western art, saying that on the rare occasions when people of African descent appeared in movies they had secondary roles. 44. Hossam Adly, Project Officer for cultural diversity at the City of Geneva, described how that city countered discrimination by holding a Week against Racism, event in March of each year, as well as by promoting diversity through public policy. The city had a diverse population because of its large foreign labour force, and discriminatory acts and statements could be encountered in various areas, particularly in the labour and housing sectors and in interactions with the police. He highlighted the prevalence of xenophobia and racism directed at people of African descent and Muslims. He described Geneva’s policy on diversity, which included measures to combat prejudice, intolerance, racism, xenophobia, and discrimination based on religion or ethnic or cultural affiliation. He also listed the various Week against Racism events, including awareness-raising activities and workshops. 45. Kanyana Mutombo of CRAN (Platform for Reflection and Action against AntiBlack Racism), an NGO based in Switzerland, described the activities of the organization, including those aimed at raising awareness about racial discrimination and stereotypes 12