UN Secretary General António Guterres has urged to work tirelessly to free all societies from the scourge of racism in his message on the occasion of the International Day for People of African Descent.
The date celebrates the diversity of the legacy and culture of people of African descent and their enormous contribution “to our societies throughout history,” in the words of Guterres.
However, millions of people of African descent around the world continue to be victims of racism and deep-seated and systemic racial discrimination, he said. For this reason, the UN urges to fully respect their human rights and fundamental freedoms and that they be offered reparation whenever said rights are violated.
The Permanent Forum for People of African Descent, whose creation is a major achievement of the International Decade for People of African Descent (2015-2024), will hold its first session in December, Guterres announced.
The General Assembly requested the Intergovernmental Working Group on the effective implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action to prepare a United Nations declaration on the promotion of and full respect for the human rights of people of African descent.
The Forum will contribute to this important work, the secretary general pointed out, and insisted that it is essential “that we continue to loudly and systematically denounce any notion of racial superiority.”
The UN admitted that, although some legislative, regulatory and institutional progress has been made, Afro-descendants still suffer from forms of racial discrimination, marginalization and exclusion.
Prensa Latina
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