A/HRC/RES/56/13 protests and all violations of international human rights law and to contribute to accountability and redress for victims, Noting the work of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the promotion and protection of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of Africans and of people of African descent against excessive use of force and other human rights violations by law enforcement officers, and taking note of the agenda towards transformative change for racial justice and equality, Welcoming the work of the International Independent Expert Mechanism to Advance Racial Justice and Equality in Law Enforcement, Stressing that 2024 marks the final year of the International Decade for People of African Descent with the theme “People of African descent: recognition, justice and development”, and recognizing calls for the extension into a second decade for people of African descent, Recalling the adoption on 9 December 2020 by the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent of operational guidelines on the inclusion of people of African descent in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Acknowledging that slavery and the slave trade, including the transatlantic slave trade, were appalling tragedies in the history of humanity not only because of their abhorrent barbarism but also in terms of their magnitude and organized nature, and especially their negation of the essence of the victims, acknowledging also that enslavement is a crime against humanity and should always have been a crime, and noting that the transatlantic slave trade is among the major sources and manifestations of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, and that Africans and people of African descent, Asians and people of Asian descent and Indigenous Peoples were victims of these acts and continue to be victims of their consequences, Recognizing that the dehumanization of people of African descent – a practice rooted in false social constructions of race historically created to justify enslavement, pervasive racial stereotypes – has sustained and cultivated a tolerance for racial discrimination, inequality and violence, Acknowledging that there is an increasing willingness and emerging practice to acknowledge the need to repair the continuing impact of enslavement, the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans and colonialism, and inviting States to seize opportunities to advance the anti-racism agenda, to prioritize attaining racial equity in implementing the 2030 Agenda and to ensure that people of African descent are not left behind, Recognizing that systemic racism, particularly against Africans and people of African descent, needs a systemic response to rapidly reverse denial and alter structures, institutions and behaviours leading to direct or indirect discrimination against Africans and people of African descent in every part of life, Recognizing also that systemic racism is intersectional by nature as it spreads in a variety of societal sectors, and that in order to tackle systemic racism and discrimination, response measures should also be intersectional, Recognizing further that changing the unwritten, tacit rules governing the culture of policing, including by fostering an internal culture of accountability and providing for proper training and recruitment processes, are all essential to building the necessary trust and ensuring that the police and the criminal justice system serve and protect all members of society without discrimination, Stressing that law enforcement officials, in the performance of their duties, shall respect and protect human dignity and maintain and uphold the human rights of all persons, recalling the Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials and the Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, and bearing in mind the numerous other international standards and norms in the field of the administration of justice, Expressing deep concern at the extent of the challenges that victims and families of victims report in their pursuit of justice, and underscoring that the independence and 2