A/76/434 A. Declining engagement 71. Observers of the Durban process have raised several concerns over the years relating to its marginalization at all levels of the United Nations. 89 72. According to OHCHR, only 23 States and regional institutions have adopted national and regional policies against racism in the past 20 ye ars. 90 Furthermore, with no international body in place to evaluate action plans, it is difficult to determine their levels of implementation. 73. State participation in the Durban follow-up mechanisms has also steadily declined over the years. There were only 12 State submissions received in 2020 for the annual report of the Secretariat on the implementation of and follow -up to the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (A/75/561), which is less than half the 26 submissions sent in by States in 2011 (see A/66/328).91 State participation in the Intergovernmental Working Group on the Effective Implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action has also declined from its peak of 105 States in 2010 (A/HRC/16/64, annex I). Only 53 States participated in the sessions of the Intergovernmental Working Group in 2019, and 46 in 2020 ( A/HRC/43/73, annex; and A/HRC/46/66, annex). 74. Independent monitoring of progress on the implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action is also a logistical obstacle, owing to the sheer complexity of the manifestations and modalities of racism in different national contexts. For several years, the Group of Independent Eminent Experts and the Intergovernmental Working Group have highlighted the need for a racial equality index (A/HRC/26/56, para. 11; E/CN.4/2005/125 and E/CN.4/2005/125/Corr.1, para. 23; and E/CN.4/2006/18, para. 97), 92 which could provide an objective and standardized measure of racial equality across the world, but little progress has been made in standardizing the monitoring of racial discrimination. The Special Rapporteur highlights the recent report of the Human Rights Council Advisory Committee (A/HRC/48/72) as a key to developing future mechanisms to monitor racial discrimination pursuant to the Durban outcome document. 75. Declining engagement in the document can also be attributed to a lack of publicity. Over the years, NGO observers have consistently noted that it was unknown in national contexts and had not been promoted outside the United Nations (A/73/98/Add.1, para. 17; and A/74/173, paras. 59–63); the Chair of the Group of Independent Eminent Experts has stated that the “lack of public awareness about the actual content of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action constituted a major obstacle towards generating political will for its full and effective implementation” (A/HRC/46/66, para. 39). In submissions for the Special Rapporteur’s report, several civil society actors urged greater publicization of the document and suggested that the text be made more accessible. 93 B. Marginalization within the United Nations 76. According to some accounts, the United Nations itself has played a role in the marginalization of the Durban process. According to submissions and even the reports __________________ 89 90 91 92 93 21-15325 Submission by Unia. OHCHR, “Fighting racism and discrimination”. In 2021, however, the number of State submissions for the report of the Secretariat rose to 18, reflecting, it is to be hoped, an upward trend in engagement. See A/76/287. In 2006, OHCHR released a draft document on developing a racial equality index. See E/CN.4/2006/14. Submission by Unia. 19/26