Permanent Forum Of People Of African Descent:
The United Nations General Assembly has approved a resolution establishing a Permanent Forum of People of African Descent.
- The Forum focuses on the themes of recognition, justice and development.
About the Forum:
- The forum will provide expert advice on addressing the challenges of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance.
- It will serve as “a platform for improving the safety and quality of life and livelihoods of people of African descent” and their full inclusion in the societies where they live.
- It was given a series of mandates.
- They include helping to ensure “the full political, economic and social inclusion of people of African descent,” and providing recommendations on addressing racism to the Geneva-based Human Rights Council, the General Assembly’s main committees and UN agencies.
The forum will consist of 10 members:
- five elected by the General Assembly from all regions.
- five appointed by the Human Rights Council following consultations with regional groups and organizations of people of African descent.
- The resolution calls for the forum’s first session to take place in 2022.
People of African Descent:
- There are around 200 million people identifying themselves as being of African descent live in the Americas.
- Many millions more live in other parts of the world, outside of the African continent.
- Issues: Whether as descendants of the victims of the transatlantic slave trade or as more recent migrants, they constitute some of the poorest and most marginalized groups.
- They still have limited access to quality education, health services, housing and social security.
- They all too often experience discrimination in their access to justice, and face alarmingly high rates of police violence, together with racial profiling.
- Furthermore, their degree of political participation is often low, both in voting and in occupying political positions.
