A/HRC/51/54 Foundation for the Remembrance of Slavery and the National Consultative Commission on Human Rights. The visit was within its mandated activities5 and was focused on the fields of cultural and knowledge production as drivers of economic development, consistent with the Sustainable Development Goals. Despite persistent narratives of meritocracy, individuals at various stages of their career (including those who had achieved significant professional success) reported that the approval and support of gatekeepers within established institutions, rather than simply the quality of work, were required for access to and recognition in various fields. Accordingly, their work continued to be filtered by the “white gaze”, complicating efforts to introduce new perspectives and approaches. The Working Group emphasized that achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development required States to address the particular, racialized experiences of people of African descent. It issued a statement and a press release at the end of the visit.6 15. Among other activities undertaken by the members of the Working Group, Ms. Day participated in the following: (a) the high-level meeting of the General Assembly to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the adoption of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action held in New York on 22 September 2021, on the theme “Reparations, racial justice and equality for people of African descent”; (b) the nineteenth session of the Intergovernmental Working Group on the Effective Implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, held in Geneva from 11 to 22 October 2021; (c) an interactive dialogue of the Social Forum of the Human Rights Council on the theme “COVID-19 and Groups in Focus”, held in Geneva on 12 October 2021; (d) expert meetings for the UNESCO “Cost of racism” project held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on 5 and 6 April 2022; (e) the annual meeting of the UNESCO International Scientific Committee on the Routes of Enslaved Peoples project, on the theme “Legacies of the past, building the future: mobilizing afro-descent stories,” held in Halifax, Canada, from 9 to 11 June 2022; (f) a webinar of the United Nations network on racial discrimination and protection of minorities on the theme “Equal access to justice for all: combating racial discrimination and enhancing protection of minorities in criminal justice systems”, held online on 19 January 2022; (g) a panel discussion on racial justice in Europe at the Fundamental Rights Forum held in Vienna on 11 and 12 October 2021; (h) a discussion on the theme “Ending racism: current challenges and solutions” at the opening session of the World Bank Law, Justice and Development Week, held online from 8 to 11 November 2021; (i) the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Global Leaders Dialogue on People of African Descent, held on 9 September 2021; and (j) a side event on the theme “Climate justice and women, girls, and birthing persons of African descent” organized by UNFPA, the National Birth Equity Collaborative and others and held online on 23 March 2022 during the sixty-sixth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. Ms. Day also participated in several consultations relating to the report of the United Nations High Commissioner of Human Rights on the promotion and protection of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of Africans and of people of African descent against excessive use of force and other human rights violations by law enforcement officers,7 and accompanying conference room paper, 8 submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 43/1, and the work of the UNFPA reference group on maternal health and maternal mortality for women of African descent. Ms. Day gave keynote remarks at several civil society events, including: (a) a side event entitled “Decisive action to reform laws that criminalize poverty and status”, at the thirty-first session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, held in Vienna from 16 to 20 May 2022; (b) the eleventh edition of RightsCon, held online from 6 to 10 June 2022; (c) the celebration of Global African Women’s Day on 16 March 2022 by the Drammeh Institute, New York; and (d) the British Institute of International and Comparative Law conference on the theme “Human rights due diligence and systemic inequalities”, held online on 25 and 26 October. Ms. Day 5 6 7 8 4 In accordance with its mandate, the Working Group liaises with financial and developmental institutional and operational programmes and specialized agencies of the United Nations with a view to contributing to development programmes intended for people of African descent, as well as other affirmative or positive measures and strategies within the human rights framework. OHCHR, “Capacity building visit of the UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent in partnership with UNESCO”, 17 December 2021. A/HRC/47/53. www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/Issues/Racism/A_HRC_47_CRP_1.pdf.