A/HRC/43/73 Murillo highlighted important recent milestones in access to political positions for women of African descent in the region. He underlined the urgent need to study the global situation of women of African descent worldwide. He was of the view that most equality laws that had been adopted in various countries in order to promote women’s rights unfortunately did not benefit women of African descent on an equal footing with other women. He called for the adoption of quota laws specifically targeted at women of African descent and other women facing discrimination on the basis of race. 76. In the context of the debate on the Working Group’s conclusions and recommendations (see paras. 89 (f) and 90 (h) below), the representative of Brazil declared the support of Brazil of the right to life from the moment of conception and the country’s concern about the use of ambiguous concepts that could be interpreted as an encouragement to abortion, which constituted an illegal practice in its territory, and it was the view of Brazil that it should not be used as a contraceptive measure. He also explained his Government’s commitment to strengthening the fight against crime and to reducing insecurity in the country and provided information on the State’s actions in response to the murder of City Councillor Franco. 77. The representative of Guatemala stated that Guatemala maintained the duly presented reservations to the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development, in accordance with its national legislation. VI. Review of progress achieved concerning the implementation of the programme of activities for the International Decade for People of African Descent 78. The representative of the European Union noted that, on 26 March 2019, the European Parliament had adopted a resolution underlying that active and meaningful social, economic, political and cultural participation by people of African descent was key to tackling the phenomenon of “Afrophobia” and ensuring their inclusion in Europe. The European Parliament had also called upon the European Commission to develop a European Union framework for national strategies for the social inclusion and integration of people of African descent. 79. The representative of Cuba noted that much progress in implementing the International Decade had already been achieved in Cuba, including the approval of a national programme against racism. He stated that civil society organizations were important, in particular when it came to implementing the programme of activities for the International Decade. 80. The delegate of Brazil noted that people of African descent were the majority population in Brazil. He expressed the support of Brazil for the negotiation of a United Nations declaration on the human rights of people of African descent and invited other States to join in those efforts. 81. The representative of the International Youth and Student Movement for the United Nations noted that his organization had been active in promoting the International Decade and that its programme of activities must be implemented by all sectors of society, not only by people of African descent. 82. The representative of Angola reported that Angola had ratified the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and that her country had embarked on activities to implement the International Decade. In particular, she noted a museum project that would be organized jointly with the United States to commemorate people with roots in Angola who had been enslaved and sold. 83. The delegate of South Africa noted that South Africa had been vigorously implementing the programme of activities for the International Decade, including the fight against hate speech in social media and on the Internet. It had adopted laws that prohibited online discrimination and had already gained experience in prosecuting online hate crimes. 12