Editor's note: The second Permanent Forum on People of African Descent started today (30 May) in New York. The theme of the session is "Realizing the dream: A United Nations Declaration on the promotion, protection and full respect of the human rights of people of African descent".
In his opening statement in a prerecorded video, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, said, “The establishment of this Forum by the General Assembly, crystallize the commitment of the international community to accelerate along the path towards full equality and justice for people of African descent, everywhere.”
He continued, “The long shadow of centuries of enslavement and colonial exploitation, still blights our present”.
Also addressing the Forum, General Assembly President Csaba Kőrösi said, “we gather to pay tribute to the indomitable spirit and resilience of People of African Descent, who, despite enduring more than 500 years of systemic discrimination and hardship, have consistently demonstrated unwavering strength and spirit.”
The Forum is organized by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, said in a prerecorded video, “It is urgent that we both hold individuals accountable for acts of racism and racial discrimination, and also consider more profoundly the role of structures and systems of discrimination and oppression that replicate and virtue racial hierarchies.”
Anielle Franco, Minister of Racial Equality of Brazil, stressed, “The legacy of colonization and dehumanization of African descent remains in the nations that today lead global debates about the future of the planet, whether in Brazil, or in Spain, our governments, I repeat, our government must prioritize in our internal and external policies the fight against and overcome racism, xenophobia and hate speech as central pillars of our democracies.”
Gabriela Ramos, the Assistant Director-General for the Social and Human Sciences of UNESCO, said: “Our efforts like many of yours, have been redoubled after the shocking recent evidence of the pervasive nature of racism during the pandemic, the killing of George Floyd, at the multiple crisis that we are confronting, that tell us, that people from African descent have higher risk of suffering the drawback of the lives, and drawback of their wellbeing.”
She stressed, “And this is real, and this is today.”
Epsy Campbell Barr, Chair Designate of the Forum, said, “The Permanent Forum is a tool which cannot solve all the problems deriving from history.”
She continued, “But it is a very important step forward on our agenda, action now - reparatory justice, a commitment that means economic resources, plans, policies, and accountability.”
Epsy Campbell Barr concluded, “Today, millions of boys and girls of African descent are hoping, trusting that we are carrying out the task.
The Permanent Forum on People of African Descent will be held from 30 May to 2 June 2023.