A/HRC/54/71 of justice. Racial profiling gives rise to police brutality and other violations, particularly against people of African descent. The Working Group is gravely concerned about trends in the treatment of people of African descent, ranging from stop-and-search to killings by law enforcement officials. 85. In its resolution 36/23 on the mandate of the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent, the Human Rights Council expressed its alarm at the rising tide of racism and racial hatred worldwide, as evidenced by the resurgence of white supremacy and extremist nationalist and populist ideologies. Some elected officials and others openly promote a false equivalency between white supremacist ideologies and anti-racism initiatives. Governments should reject the idea that anti-racism commitments are extremist and lead the public discourse to expose the claims of equivalency between fascism and antiracism. Human rights should not be undermined by political considerations. 86. The Working Group has observed and documented the widening digital divide, including the impact of algorithmic bias on the lives of people of African descent. From risk instruments that encode legacy biases to the accreditation of artificial intelligence products tested on all-white data sets that embed serious, racialized inaccuracies to improper practices masked by inscrutable algorithms, it has become easier to exclude people of African descent from access to information, financial and educational resources and health care, as the bias in algorithmic decision-making is not easily perceptible to lay users. 87. People of African descent disproportionately lack access to participation and inclusion in policymaking and decision-making and to proportional representation in politics, academia, executive leadership, senior positions and the media. The lack of representation of people of African descent in decision-making roles on the issues defining their social protection drives significant gaps in expertise, legitimacy and understanding in policymaking. VII. Conclusions and recommendations for the future 88. Despite promising initiatives, discrete achievements and numerous important engagements in the 20 years since its establishment the year after the adoption of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, there is no less need for the Working Group today, reflecting a powerful, global culture of denial that has minimized or ignored the systemic aspects of racial discrimination, disparity and injustice. Many anti-racism initiatives are uninformed by analysis or valid expertise on how racism may persist or be transformed. The growing global discourse on systemic racism may represent the most enduring achievement under the mandate of the Working Group and the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action. The mandate of the Working Group remains vital. Fulfilling it requires increased international commitment, Member State engagement and support, including increased resources. 89. The Working Group has been at the origin of the much-needed expansion of the anti-racial discrimination architecture within the United Nations. Mechanisms with complementary mandates have been established, which have the capacity to add depth and nuance to the global understanding of the persistence and nature of systemic racism. Better coordination within this architecture, including mandated opportunities to collaborate and the building of networks and relationships among the different mechanisms, could lead to long-overdue synergy and complementarity. 90. The Working Group has provided a platform for civil society, grass-roots organizations and academics to discuss the ways in which the struggle for justice, recognition and reparations is manifested across disciplines, regions and generations. Its engagement on racial transformation with civil society organizations and local actors, including during country visits, has fostered important understanding, terminology and articulation of systemic racism for national and international advocacy efforts. The Working Group’s own analysis is deeply enriched by such engagement, as the legitimacy of analyses at the intersection of systemic racism and human rights must be iteratively informed and guided by persons with local relevance 18 GE.23-15301