A/HRC/43/73 that the permanent forum could play an important role in that regard, bringing together civil society and articulating an annual agenda, key priorities, indicators and metrics for monitoring. She stated that the varying expertise of the members of the various mechanisms might make an even greater impact in the work towards common agenda items and priorities. She highlighted that the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent cooperated in a number of ways, whether formally or informally, and relied on each other’s work, in particular with regard to communications to Member States. 50. The Chair of the Ad Hoc Committee on Complementary Standards made also a presentation on agenda item 6. He noted the historical link to the mechanisms to support the implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action. He stated that, although all mechanisms were important and established to support the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, there were fears that the roles of the three mechanisms were not complementary when attempting to work together to promote and implement the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action. He called for the prevention of duplication by all mechanisms and underscored the need for effectiveness. He thought further emphasis should be placed on combating the hate speech that was taking place online and offline and for focus to be placed on more preventive measures. The Chair of the Ad Hoc Committee welcomed recommendations and knowledge from independent experts, however, he was of the view that close attention must be paid to adopting a national approach for the implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action. He emphasized that the subject of racism did not belong to a particular group or country but to those who were affected. Awarenessraising and visibility through campaigns of international organizations and national Governments and social and cultural events were required to promote the implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action. V. Discussion on challenges faced by women of African descent 51. The Working Group considered agenda item 7, “Exchange and discussion on challenges faced by women of African descent”. Presentations were made by the following six experts: Ana Carolina Lourenço, Regional Advocacy Coordinator of the Fundación Ciudadanía Inteligente; Ms. Day; Mr. Modiri; Ntambwe Modi, Chair of the Migrant Women Network; Ms. Monica Ferro, Director of the United Nations Population Fund; and Mr. Murillo. 52. In her presentation, Ms. Lourenço explained that, over the past 20 years, systematic analysis of the situation of women of African descent had shed light on the interconnections between gender, race, ethnicity and social class and those findings echoed the growing demands of the movement of women of African descent. She also explained that the perspective of intersectionality was a tool that revealed not only the different manifestations of discrimination, such as sexism, racism and class prejudices, but also the crossing and overlapping of discrimination, where two, three or more grounds of discrimination entwined. 53. In that respect, she referred to the experiences in the States of Latin America and the Caribbean where, despite the fact that States engaged in a series of international agreements and conferences aimed at recognizing the rights of people of African descent, they continued to be discriminated against in access to opportunities and in the exercise of their rights, especially women living in poor and rural areas. She stressed the importance of acknowledging the differing situations of people of African descent in Latin America and the Caribbean and of adopting differentiated approaches in analysis. 54. She highlighted some of the structural forms of discrimination faced by women of African descent in Latin America, such as inequalities in wealth, lack of political representation and vulnerability to violence, and emphasized the need to develop measures that took into account the wider context of the communities in which women of African descent lived. 55. In his presentation, Mr. Modiri stated that the lack of gender equality remained a major problem in Africa. He recalled that the colonialism that had produced the racialization of African peoples was also a highly gendered project that relied on particular concepts of 8