A/HRC/25/69 World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance of 2001 was important for the country and civil society. The Government now recognized that structural discrimination exists, rooted in its slavery in the past and also linked to poverty and social exclusion. She added that most people of African descent suffer exclusion and the Government was working to address this through the adoption of laws and other public policies which were having a positive impact on people of African descent. The previous year, the Supreme Court ruled that affirmative action policies instituted by the Government are constitutional. These affirmative action policies have proven successful, however the Government has challenged to convince a sceptical public. She added that a Statute for Racial Equality had also been adopted in Brazil impacting several spheres including cultures, health, and education. 5. The Ambassador of Morocco expressed his support for the Chairperson-Rapporteur and expressed appreciation to Ms. Gomes for her presentation which provided a comprehensive snapshot of racism and xenophobia in the region of Latin America. He added that her presentation gave a broader perspective of xenophobia and racism in the world and pointed to the universality of these scourges that were not confined to a single country or region. He congratulated Brazil for the progress it was making and noted that there are other countries which deny the existence of these problems. He stated that if current laws had not remedied the situation, then it was only logical to consider new laws. He expressed disappointment at the disdain with which the Committee was treated adding that there was no hierarchy to rights and that any and all violations of human rights must be condemned. He emphasized that education and leadership were very important factors, which included a role for political, religious and academic leaders. He stated that discrimination based on religion of belief against followers of religions are amongst the worst forms of discrimination as they attack the core beliefs of people, which could lead to violence and terrorism. He noted that racism persisted as there were not strong laws to criminalize such behaviour and there was no clear definition of xenophobia. International human rights law had not been able to eradicate these problems; therefore further actions should be undertaken to combat racism and xenophobia. He stated that history would not judge kindly the Ad Hoc Committee if it was silent. Stating that the evolution of international human rights law does not end with the ICERD and Durban related documents, it was time for the Ad Hoc Committee to come together, take its responsibility and fully implement its mandate to elaborate complementary standards to the ICERD. 6. The delegate of Uruguay thanked Ms. Gomes for her presentation and reaffirmed that racism and xenophobia are indeed everywhere. He noted that in the Latin American region was still challenged by racism, often not acknowledging its existence. It was important to be self-critical and recognize that people face discrimination. He stated that Uruguay had only recently taken actions to recognize the existence of the phenomenon of racial discrimination in the country. He stated that about 10% of the population of Uruguay are people are African descent and they face social rather than structural discrimination. He highlighted a recent campaign about the positive attributes of immigration which was taking place in Uruguay. He queried how it was possible to distinguish xenophobia from racial discrimination. 7. Ms. Gomes emphasized that human rights instruments and mechanisms were important, as that without them the situation would be far worse. With regard to immigration, she noted that while new immigrants brought new issues to countries of the region, xenophobia clearly had a colour and that colour more than nationality was the factor. She reiterated the importance of raising the awareness of people about xenophobia, racial discrimination and history and culture of different communities and groups, especially since surveys in Brazil effectively showed that while there was racism, no one would admit to being a racist. She noted that affirmative action policies had always existed for others groups, such as farmers, however the reluctance seemed to have arisen with respect to affirmative action for people of African descent. While the Government was supportive of affirmative action programmes, much work remained to be carried out to 21