A/HRC/31/75 • Capacity-building: the Office had paid special attention to strengthening knowledge and practical expertise in human rights among leaders of African descent, in particular through its Fellowship Programme for People of African Descent. • Empowerment: in the programme of activities, the Assembly recommended the establishment of a forum for people of African descent to serve as a consultation mechanism. It would be a place where the voices of people of African descent could be heard. The Human Rights Council is expected to take action and provide guidance on the forum’s format and modalities. • Awareness-raising: the Department of Public Information, OHCHR and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) were carrying out an awareness-raising campaign to inform the general public of the history, contributions, challenges, contemporary experiences and situation of human rights of people of African descent. 22. Mr. Boychenko concluded by saying that while the General Assembly had approved a budget for the implementation of the Decade, its success would depend upon the mobilization of additional resources to undertake important initiatives outlined in the programme of activities which were not covered by the regular budget. 23. During the discussion that followed, a representative of the International Youth and Student Movement for the United Nations noted that at the end of the 18th century many great revolutions, such as the American or the French revolutions, occurred. Few people knew however, about the revolution in Haiti, even though that revolution established the first republic that did not allow slavery. Polish soldiers who were sent to suppress the uprising did not follow their orders, as they did not want to participate in massacres. Such behaviour underlined the idea of “non-racial citizenship” and exemplified the importance of the Haitian revolution for the development of human rights. 24. The representative of Morocco said that history needed to be revisited and commemorative sites could play a major role in doing so. Contemporary migration was reminiscent of the earlier diaspora. Ms. Davies noted that indeed, many sites were used as commemorative sites. This was, however, not the case in Haiti. 25. Mr. Ugochukwu and Ms. Davies called for a Marshall Plan for people of African descent and said that it should focus on infrastructure. Ms. Davies noted that such a plan should be extended to the Caribbean, as infrastructure was indeed essential. In addition, she called for the establishment of a think tank that dealt with issues concerning the African diaspora. 26. The representative of South Africa pointed out that a Working Group on People of African Descent, which functioned as a think tank, already existed. In addition, there were plans to establish the forum within the framework of the Decade. The modalities for the forum should be clearly defined; it could have a consultative status for the Decade. 27. The representative of India made a statement, underlining his country’s commitment regarding the fight against discrimination and racism. 28. Speaking in reference to the implementation of the International Decade for People of African Descent, the representative of Brazil reaffirmed the country’s commitment to the full implementation of all relevant international instruments and stated that Brazil was a multiracial, multi-ethnic and multicultural society, which had the largest population of people of African descent in the world. As the national census conducted in 2010 documented, more than half of the Brazilian population, about 100 million people, declared themselves as people of African descent. Brazil reiterated its full support for the Decade, with the theme “People of African descent: recognition, justice and development”. As recalled by Mr. Boychenko, that theme should guide the work on the Decade. The 7