A/HRC/45/44/Add.2 perceived racial discrimination against Afro-Peruvian people, only 8 per cent of them saw themselves as racist or perpetuating racism, illustrating the challenge posed when confronting institutional racism. 41. Systemic discrimination against and the institutional invisibility of people of African descent are a legacy of the country’s past. Afro-Peruvians were denied the basic human right to legal identity and remained invisible in laws, legislation and policies. This lack of visibility has been compounded by the State’s focus on geographical territories and mother-tongue languages, both of which render Afro-Peruvians invisible in local and national data. Interculturality and diversity are embedded in the Afro-Peruvian identity, particularly in its cultural production. The acknowledgment of the contribution and identity of Afro-Peruvians in Peru has, however, been weakened by discrimination, exploitation and disregard. Furthermore, popular conceptions of interculturality often exclude Afro-Peruvian identity. The self-identification of Afro-Peruvians was erroneously perceived as a denial and a rejection of Peruvian identity. This misperception is an important source of the ongoing invisibility of Afro-Peruvians. 42. The inclusion of a self-identification variable in the 2017 census was a demonstration of the State’s commitment to offering social protection to Afro-Peruvians. As it is enhanced, the self-identification variable will offer an even more rigorous mechanism to tackle their lack of visibility. 43. The successful launch of the self-identification variable also brought to the surface key issues for the ongoing preparation for the next census, in 2022. These include how the “forced choice” between the broad category of mestizo and Afro-Peruvian dilutes AfroPeruvians; and how, at the regional and local levels, the design of the census sample has limited the analysis of Afro-Peruvians, precluding any analysis of the variation and complexity of these communities. The census offered only a minimal capacity to understand the reality of Afro-Peruvians and their access to social protection, in part because of its heavy reliance on broad geographical territories to connote similarity. For example, the census sample allowed for the measurement of poverty at very local levels, but not specifically the poverty of Afro-Peruvian families in local contexts. 44. Afro-Peruvian history is deeply connected to the category of mestizo, which also masks or supplants racial identity in complex ways. Research suggests that adolescents identify as both mestizo and Afro-Peruvian when given the option, but if given only one choice they would default to the category of mestizo. Other Afro-Peruvians self-identify as mestizo to exclude themselves from a group associated with discrimination, to accurately reflect their multiracial identities or for other reasons. The Working Group observed a prison identification photograph of an Afro-Peruvian who was racially identified as mestizo. Such self-identification thus warrants further clarification. Deconstructing the broad category of mestizo, which effectively dilutes the number of Afro-Peruvians, would allow the recovery of lost Afro-Peruvian history and reveal the current complex realities of Afro-Peruvians. 45. Peru is a country with a mestizo majority. In many ways, the Afro-Peruvian population is relegated to a peripheral environment contributing to its lack of visibility. The compartmentalization of Afro-Peruvians within the Ministry of Culture may create restrictions in the realization of other rights. The lack of training of public officials has also licensed racial discrimination against Afro-Peruvians. 46. Access to justice for Afro-Peruvians remains a concern. Representatives of civil society reported to the Working Group that Afro-Peruvians had no access to the justice system owing to financial constraints, racial and gender discrimination, and the absence of police and other services normally provided by the State in remote rural areas. The Working Group was also informed about xenophobia and the use of hate speech against Venezuelan migrants (some of whom of African descent) by government officials, politicians and the media. 47. People of African descent created, nurtured and grew the mango industry in Peru, a significant agricultural product for sale and export. While Peru is a country of extraordinary agricultural and culinary diversity, mangoes came to Peru via the trade and trafficking of enslaved Africans. Today at the heart of a multimillion-dollar industry, mango trees are still 9