The fourth session of the UN Permanent Forum on People of African Descent has opened at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
The session is focusing on the challenges of reparations and the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the development of people of African descent.
The week-long event is organised by the UN Human Rights Office and runs under the theme: “Africa and People of African Descent: United for Reparatory Justice in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.”
The forum aims to amplify global calls for reparations addressing the historical legacies of enslavement and colonialism.
“Let us recommit to ending racism everywhere, in all its forms in defence of the dignity and equality of every human being,” said Philemon Yang, President of the UN General Assembly, during his opening remarks.
In a message delivered by his Chef de Cabinet, Courtenay Rattray, UN Secretary-General António Guterres stressed the importance of frameworks for reparatory justice grounded in international human rights law.
He noted that colonialism, enslavement, apartheid, and genocide had long impeded the development of African nations and the human rights of people of African descent.
The first panel on Tuesday will focus on addressing the continuing consequences of these historical injustices as a critical and urgent global priority.
The second panel will explore how racism and sexism intersect, creating compounded forms of discrimination, particularly affecting women and girls of African descent.
“Women and adolescent girls of African descent are at a much higher risk of maternal mortality and adolescent pregnancy,” said Natalia Kanem, Executive Director of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), speaking at the opening ceremony.(NAN)
