A/HRC/54/71 descent worldwide. The Working Group also organized side events on the African reparations agenda and on the International Decade for People of African Descent and participated in the non-governmental organization and national human rights institution forums preceding the session. 79. In addition to contributing to the creation of the Permanent Forum on People of African descent, which was established by the General Assembly in its resolution 75/314, the Working Group has worked closely with the Permanent Forum and with the International Independent Expert Mechanism to Advance Racial Justice and Equality in Law Enforcement, established by the Human Rights Council in its resolution 47/21. VI. Persistent and emerging trends 80. During its 20 years of work, the Working Group has noted that the lack of data disaggregated by race remains a major impediment to the full realization of human rights for people of African descent. Disaggregated data offer a means of ensuring the recognition of people of African descent and of overcoming their historical, social and structural invisibility.67 81. Despite advances in some countries, the culture, history and contributions of people of African descent are largely absent from primary and secondary school curricula. University students and personnel report the devaluation of African studies and of African authors in the established canon of literature. When taught, the history of colonization often implicitly or explicitly privileges colonial legacies and norms, and most States have not ensured that textbooks and educational materials reflect historical facts accurately with regard to past tragedies and atrocities, particularly enslavement, the transatlantic slave trade, the exploitation of African people, land and resources, and colonialism. 68 Governments should build understanding and awareness of the history and contributions of people of African descent, including the impacts of wealth-building during the colonial period on the stability of nations in Africa and of the diaspora and the legacies of colonialism and of trade and trafficking in enslaved Africans on individual, family and community wealth, health and access to resources. 82. Globally, the Working Group has also observed a persistent culture of denial, including of the existence of racism or systemic racism, and the devaluing and delegitimizing of individual experiences of racial bias, systemic racism and racial injustice. It has noted current and historical instances of this culture of denial in the operation of the media and of educational and public institutions, including systems of justice. Such denial remains a persistent yet invisible barrier to access to justice.69 83. The overrepresentation of people of African descent in the criminal justice system persists, together with instances of serious injustice and derogations from due process, highlighting the challenge of convincing justice system decision makers to confront their own biases. Racial bias pervades all levels of the criminal justice system, with people of African descent overrepresented at all stages of the criminal justice process, from stop-and-search to sentencing. The persistence of the unlawful or excessive use of force against people of African descent by the police, border control authorities, security forces and other law enforcement agencies extends across regions. From racial profiling to the exercise of prosecutorial discretion, the imposition of pretrial incarceration and racial disparities in sentencing, people of African descent continue to disproportionately experience surveillance, social control and double standards, despite fairly accessible and widespread information on the ways in which bias affects decision-making with respect to people of African descent.70 84. Institutional and structural racism and racial discrimination are legacies of enslavement, colonialism, neocolonialism and centuries of dehumanization. People of African descent continue to be disproportionately discriminated against in the administration 67 68 69 70 GE.23-15301 A/HRC/42/59/Add.1, para. 19. Ibid., paras. 26 and 27. A/HRC/27/68/Add.1, para. 59. A/HRC/36/60/Add.1, para. 34. 17