A/76/302 68. Digital surveillance, monitoring and facial recognition in technologies used in health innovations may perpetuate racism, therefore embedding it in health technology. Unchecked, these create unjust outcomes in diagnos tics, investigations, analytics and algorithms in health care. One example is an algorithm widely used by health-care systems in the United States that significantly underestimated the needs of the most chronically ill Black patients, on the basis of race, further reinforcing racial health inequities in treatment. 69. Attacks against human rights defenders, especially against people of African descent, have increased during the pandemic. Women advocating for reproductive health, sexual education and rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI) persons have been targeted and received death threats. Violence against women, especially against Black women, is on the rise during the COVID -19 pandemic. This is even worse, given that 70 per cent of the Black population depends on the public health system. COVID-19 has a disproportionate impact on persons in vulnerable situations and deepen pre-existing inequalities. States have a duty to show political leadership, prioritize dignity and apply a human rights approach to all actions. 70. It is essential to chart the history of the struggle of Africans and people of African descent, including the role of United Nations agencies in that history. For example, in the years from 1945 to 1965, the lack of an advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the matter of the Jim Crow laws stands in stark contrast to the advisory opinion by the Court on apartheid in South Africa. Similarly, the United Nations declining to take up the claims raised by people of African descent in the United States demonstrates the challenge that the United Nations system has faced in addressing matters of race as distinct from national identity. 71. Reparations are an internationally recognized human right, yet reparations for people of African descent for the trade and trafficking in enslaved Africans and colonialism remain a controversial topic of discussion in many forums. The legitimate expectations and demands related to reparations for people of Africa n descent have been largely misunderstood and/or denied by many States and other stakeholders. 72. The urgent debate in the Human Rights Council, Council resolution 43/1, the report of the High Commissioner (A/HRC/47/53), and Council resolution 47/21 have offered clear and important guidance in operationalizing commitments to fight systemic racism in a local context. The Working Group will continue to support the Council and OHCHR in its implementation of the resolution, in partnership with key stakeholders. 73. The twentieth anniversary of the adoption of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, the midterm review of the Decade and the 2030 Agenda are critical platforms to ensure that racial equality and equity remain at the centre of the global and national agendas. 74. The Working Group welcomes the relaunch of the United Nations Network on Racial Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, including engagement at the senior levels. The United Nations system as a whole must fight racism as a collective priority, in the spirit of the Secretary-General’s call to action. B. Recommendations 75. The Working Group notes with appreciation the many recommendations submitted in statements presented at the session and submitted to the Working Group. 40 The Working Group makes the recommendations below. __________________ 40 21-11641 The submissions are available on the web page of the Working Group ( www.ohchr.org/EN/ Issues/Racism/WGAfricanDescent/Pages/Session27.aspx). 19/22