A/HRC/48/78 I. Introduction 1. In the present report, submitted to the Human Rights Council in accordance with Council resolutions 9/14, 18/28, 27/25, 36/23 and 45/24, the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent focuses on its twenty-eighth public session, on the theme “Environmental justice, the climate crisis and people of African descent”, held from 24 to 26 March 2021. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and related travel restrictions had a direct impact on the Working Group’s mandated activities; country visits were postponed, and sessions and other events were held virtually. 2. In August 2020, Dominique Day was appointed Chair of the Working Group, replacing Ahmed Reid. On 1 May 2021, Sabelo Gumedze completed his term as member of the Working Group, and Catherine S. Namakula (South Africa) began her term. On 4 June 2021, Mr. Reid resigned as member of the Working Group to accept a post with an international organization. On 1 August 2021, Ricardo Sunga and Michal Balcerzak completed their terms as members of the Working Group and were replaced by Sushil Raj (India) and Miriam Ekiudoko (Hungary). A new member from the Latin American and Caribbean Group will be appointed by the Human Rights Council at its forty-eighth session. II. Activities of the Working Group 3. During the period under review (from August 2020 to June 2021), the Working Group’s expertise was in high demand. The Chair and members participated in many online events as global interest in the mandate peaked following the murder of George Floyd, global protests for racial justice, and the glaring racial disparities surfacing during the pandemic, turned a spotlight on systemic racism and generated an unprecedented opportunity to address the concerns of people of African descent. 4. The Working Group presented a report on COVID-19, systemic racism and global protests to the Human Rights Council at its forty-fifth session (A/HRC/45/44). It also reported on its country visits to Ecuador and Peru (A/HRC/45/44/Add.1 and Add.2), and participated in an interactive dialogue with the Council. The Working Group also submitted its annual report to the General Assembly (A/75/275) and participated in an interactive dialogue with the Third Committee of the Assembly on 2 November 2020. 5. On 20 November 2020, the Working Group held an expert meeting on its operational guidelines on the inclusion of people of African descent in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The discussions with experts from the United Nations Population Fund and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean assisted in the finalization of the operational guidelines, which were adopted by the Working Group on 9 December 2020.1 The guidelines were prepared as a tool for United Nations country teams, States Members of the United Nations, financial and development institutions and all stakeholders to assist them in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals contained therein, with a specific focus on people of African descent. They refer to international human rights law and available official and unofficial data, including reports and other studies of the Working Group. 6. Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Working Group postponed both its twentysixth session (scheduled for 30 March to 3 April 2020) and its twenty-seventh session (rescheduled for 31 August to 4 September 2020) until the end of the year. 7. The Working Group held its twenty-sixth session, on a virtual platform, from 23 to 25 November 2020. The session included a series of five public regional meetings with representatives of civil society to strategize on the way forward at the mid-term of the International Decade for People of African Descent and the twentieth anniversary of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action.2 These regional meetings informed the 1 2 2 See https://ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Racism/WGEAPD/Guidelines_inclusion_2030_Agenda.pdf. See https://ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Racism/WGAfricanDescent/Pages/Session26.aspx.