A/HRC/15/18 being sufficiently addressed, in a holistic and coordinated manner, at the federal, state and local levels. 75. The experts learned that education is still one of the major areas of discrimination and one of the main sources of inequality of opportunity. The experts learned of various initiatives designed to improve access to quality education by racial minorities such as people of African descent, yet also that the majority of white parents are not very supportive of the Government’s inclusion programmes. 76. Nationwide, African Americans suffer unemployment at disproportionately high levels compared to the general population. An imbalance in their participation in the labour force not only risks societal division but also indicates probable discrimination within the private sector that might escalate. 77. The experts are quite concerned with aspects of the administration of justice that adversely affect the African American population, particularly the disproportionate incarceration rates compared to the general population and the seemingly discriminatory application of some laws. 78. The experts learned that while there is no federal authority charged specifically with monitoring and advancing the situation of people of African descent, there is a comprehensive structure in place that ensures that their situation is included in the agenda and programmes of the different agencies that have thematic responsibility for ensuring the provision of health, housing and other fundamental services. 79. Since the March 2002 report of the Institute of Medicine, several health issues were detected as problematic from a racial standpoint, concluding that minorities are less likely than whites to receive needed care, including clinically necessary procedures in certain types of treatment areas. The experts were informed that currently the particular health problems that are of most concern for people of African descent are obesity, heart disease, infant mortality, diabetes, HIV/AIDS and certain cancers. 80. The experts duly note that the federal and state laws guarantee the right to equal opportunities in housing and prohibit discriminatory practices in the sale and rental of housing as well as in the mortgage lending and insurance markets related to housing, that federal and state authorities prosecute the offenders of such laws, and that there are a number of Government programmes designed to improve housing availability to racial and ethnic minorities. However, the members of the Working Group were informed about a reduction in the construction of social housing and reinvestment of money in building shelters for the homeless. The members of the group were also informed that in the United States many people of African descent are geographically isolated from the mainstream culture, as de facto residential segregation is often a stark reality. NGOs also highlight the lack of participation of people of African descent in the decision-making process concerning urban development that affects them. 81. Although the Working Group recognizes the great advances that have been made in combating direct discrimination against people of African descent, it is concerned by the ongoing structural discrimination that cannot be effectively addressed with the existing legal mechanisms and legislation. On the other hand, it should be also kept in mind that as the country is a federation of states, most states have also enacted their own legislation prohibiting racial discrimination in different areas where they have jurisdiction. However, in some cases, the lack of unified and precise federal legislation (as, for example, the definition of the permanent/bona fide residence for the exercise of voting rights) places people of African descent at a disadvantage. Finally, although there are not many international treaties on 19