E/CN.4/2004/18/Add.1 page 14 had friends of other races and 60 per cent stated they had done something personally to improve racial harmony. Further, 61 per cent of young people believed that politicians and political parties have a major responsibility to improve race relations, and 42 per cent believed the same applied to the education system. The Lethem Young Achievers’ Club, in the south, on the border with Brazil, a group consisting mainly of mestizos, face up to slurs on their identity with confidence, humour and a desire to excel beyond prejudice. 36. The Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) is another key body in the defence of human rights. It is well known for its monitoring of action by the Government and the political parties and for its human rights education for the general public. Its publications, such as the report on police violence between 1980 and 2001, carry considerable weight. 37. The Carter Center, which is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), supports projects aimed at improving governance and the administration of justice, and at developing alternative conflict-resolution mechanisms, in particular mediation between individuals and communities. It also supports the constitutional reform process and to that end encourages dialogue between the parties. The University of Guyana in Georgetown has also set up a conflict-resolution programme with the support of the Carter Center and international donors. The United Nations Association of Guyana has informed the Special Rapporteur that, with the support of the Canadian International Development Agency, it has been running a community programme on peaceful conflict resolution for young people and adults since 2000. The programme has been made available to schools, NGOs and political parties, and the United Nations Association of Guyana would ultimately like to establish community peace councils in various localities, that would intervene promptly in cases of potential conflict. F. Analysis and evaluation of ethnic polarization 38. The Special Rapporteur noted the harsh reality of ethnic polarization among Guyanese of African, Hindu and Amerindian descent. 39. This polarization, which is most starkly reflected in the basically ethnic composition of the political parties, is reproduced in the structure of State mechanisms, particularly in the public sector, the army and the police, and has had deep and lasting economic, social and cultural consequences. 40. The various barriers - human, psychological, social and cultural - thrown up as a result of this polarization have not merely distorted all aspects and forms of “living together”, but have also perpetuated and reinforced a state of economic and social underdevelopment, to the detriment of the entire society, in a country that possesses extraordinary natural, human and intellectual resources. The Special Rapporteur noted that, despite everything, this polarization, in all communities and at all levels of society, has resulted not in feelings of hatred between communities but rather in a culture of fear and mistrust which pervades all social activity. During his meetings and interviews, he also noted the existence of a sense of belonging at all levels of society. Therefore, at the basic level of the people’s deepest feelings, Guyanese society does nurture the human values necessary for overcoming ethnic polarization and collectively building genuine pluralism, through which a dynamic, creative balance could enable cultural and spiritual differences to be recognized, respected, protected and promoted and universal values arising out of cross-fertilization among communities to be cultivated. But the prerequisite for