During the Third Session of the Permanent Forum of People of African Descent, held in Geneva from April 16-19, our Executive Director, Liliane Umubyeyi, had the opportunity to contribute to the discussion on "Reparations, Sustainable Development and Economic Justice".
In her statement, Liliane Umubyeyi highlighted the following points:
- Some demands for justice and reparations have been ignored until today. For more than six decades, the international development and human rights sectors have largely evaded African demands for justice and reparations, according to a recent AfaLab report - external link. This evasion persists despite the continuing impact of racial domination on a wide range of contemporary political issues in Africa, including migration, economics, gender, climate, health, and culture.
- The unfulfillment of Africa's demands is reinforced by the fact that certain African peoples have been denied the right to participate in international human rights arenas through the denial of visas. This was demonstrated at this very forum, where one of our colleagues experienced such a denial.
- The political project for the liberation of people of African descent must integrate a comprehensive strategy that considers the destiny of the African continent.
- The political emancipation of Black people should seek to end the global system of racial domination experienced by African citizens, while at the same time frontally addressing their demands for justice and reparations for the colonial and neocolonial crimes they have endured.
While at the Forum, AfaLab held a side event conference entitled "Biracial Children, African Mothers and Colonization: A Global Case for Reparations" - external link.