A/HRC/56/68/Add.1 disparate impact of COVID-19 and the large-scale racial justice protests in 2020 brought some of the realities of continuing systemic racism more into the mainstream American consciousness. Following the sustained advocacy of civil society actors, this racial reckoning has been translated into a strong commitment to racial justice and some promising government initiatives designed to improve racial equality and eliminate systemic racism. 68. On the other hand, it was abundantly clear that persistent, multifaceted and mutually reinforcing forms of systemic racism and racial discrimination remain and that it will take time for current initiatives to translate into significant improvements in the lived experiences of the individuals affected the most. Moreover, these initiatives do not adequately address the white supremacy, underlying power imbalances, historical divestment, extractivism and settler colonialism which underpin contemporary forms of racial discrimination in the United States. 69. The Special Rapporteur also witnessed, with profound concern, a climate characterized by deep political polarization and volatility, economic uncertainty, extreme income and wealth inequality, and severe damage to the fabric of American society. These trends are creating fertile ground for hatred, including the othering, stereotyping and scapegoating of those from racially marginalized groups. 70. Meaningful and sustained efforts to address and to provide reparations for the harms of slavery, colonialism and enduring systemic racism are fundamental to the elimination of racial discrimination within the United States. Accordingly, significant additional attention and resources must be directed towards the development of a comprehensive reparatory justice approach, which includes meaningful reparations for colonialism, slavery and systemic racism. B. Recommendations 71. Unless otherwise specified, all recommendations are for the Government of the United States. Addressing systemic racism and intersecting forms of discrimination 72. Invest significant attention and resources at the federal and state levels to develop a comprehensive reparatory justice approach, which includes reparations for slavery, colonialism and sustained systemic racism, in full and meaningful consultation with affected individuals and communities. Consideration should be given to passing relevant legislation, including the H.R. 40 bill, and to issuing an executive order on reparations. (a) Ensure that all anti-racism efforts effectively target white supremacy, power imbalances between racial groups and the historical drivers of racial discrimination. (b) Establish an independent national human rights institution consistent with the Paris Principles and ensure that it has the mandate and the capacity to receive and investigate complaints of all forms of racial discrimination and to coordinate efforts to achieve racial equality and justice. (c) Ensure that all efforts to address racial discrimination take into consideration the intersectional forms of discrimination often faced by those from racially marginalized groups. (d) Ensure the full implementation of relevant international instruments on racial justice, including the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action. (e) Ratify all the core human rights treaties to which the United States is not a State party. (f) Strengthen efforts to collect and coordinate the collection of data, fully disaggregated by race and ethnicity, across all areas of government activity to monitor 16 GE.24-08027