Tuesday- 3rd August, 2021: The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Monday established a new platform to improve the lives of African descendants.
The United Nations Permanent Forum of People of African Descent was unanimously adopted by the 193-member body.
The 10-member advisory body will work closely with the Geneva-based Human Rights Council.
The forum will have five members nominated by governments to be elected by the General Assembly, and five additional members appointed by the council.
The modalities commenced in November 2014, when the General Assembly officially launched the International Decade for People of African Descent (2015-2024).
UNGA condemned the spread of racist extremist movements and the resurgent scourges of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.
However, the Human Rights Council has established a panel of experts to investigate systemic racism in policing against people of African descent.
This followed a report by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) after the police killing of George Floyd in 2020.
High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet highlighted the “compounding inequalities” and “stark socioeconomic and political marginalisation” faced by Africans and people of African descent.
The report also noted that “no state has comprehensively accounted for the past or for the current impact of systemic racism”.
