page 2
Acknowledging the significant role played by the Durban Declaration and Programme of
Action follow-up mechanisms and stressing the importance of creating the necessary synergies
between them and of avoiding duplication and overlapping,
1.
Welcomes and acknowledges the importance and significance of the work of the
Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent in examining the current situation and
conditions and the extent of racism against Africans and people of African descent;
2.
Urges consideration of the recommendations of the Durban Declaration and
Programme of Action follow-up mechanisms contained in General Assembly and Council
resolutions,
3.
Recommends that States take measures to ensure adequate representation of people of
African descent in the judiciary and other areas of the justice system, without prejudice to the
principle of meritocracy, and calls upon States to identify factors that have resulted in the
disproportionate number of arrests, sentencing and incarceration of Africans and people of
African descent, particularly young men, and to take immediate and appropriate measures to
eliminate those factors and to adopt crime-prevention strategies and programmes that include
alternatives to incarceration;
4.
Emphasizes the need to establish methods by which disaggregated information may
be collected effectively on health, education, access to housing, employment, treatment in the
criminal justice system, political participation and representation, with regard to, inter alia,
Africans and people of African descent, and that such information provide the basis for the
creation and monitoring of policies and practices that address any discrimination found;
5.
Also emphasizes the importance of collecting disaggregated information and urges
the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to provide support to the
States that request it for the collection of such information;
6.
Underscores the importance that States and international and regional organizations
ensure that existing mechanisms for complaints for discrimination are accessible to Africans and
people of African descent;