Calling for the UN General Assembly to declare 2012-2022 as the International Decade for People of African Descent

Peoples’ and Civil Society letter to the United Nations Member States calling for the UN General Assembly to declare 2012-2022 as the International Decade for People of African Descent.

The undersigned peoples and civil society organisations, including those representing People of African Descent, wish to express their appreciation to the UN member states who introduced and cooperated in the process of adopting the decision to commemorate 2011 as the International Year for People of African Descent.

We recognize that the International Year for People of African Descent with the widely accepted theme of “People of African Descent: Recognition, Justice and Development” has brought important international attention to the plight of People of African Descent suffering from centuries of racism and denial of human rights. Yet its purpose can not and has not been accomplished in one year.

We now call on the United Nations General Assembly to declare 2012 to 2022 as the International Decade for People of African Descent with the theme “People of African Descent: Recognition, Justice, Development”.

As the call for the UN to declare an International Year for People of African Descent originated from the UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent set up to promote the rights for People of African Descent contained in the 2001 Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (DDPA) we find it mandatory that the General Assembly place the adoption of the International Decade within the agenda item and framework of the implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action.

We insist on the General Assembly at this session to officially adopt “People of African Descent: recognition, Justice, Development” as the theme of the Decade. The theme, originating from non-governmental organisations (NGO’s) and proposed by the UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent became widely accepted during the International Year and officially adopted by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights as its theme for its activities during the International Year.

We furthermore call for the International Decade to be developed with the full involvement of People of African Descent and supported by Civil Society and that a fully funded Programme of Activities should be adopted next year by the General Assembly taking account of proposals from the UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent, People of African Descent and Civil Society organisations.

Sincerely,

Organizations

• Africa Action
• African American Police League
• African Canadian Legal Clinic
• African European Women’s Movement “Sophiedela” (Europe/NL)
• African European Women’s Movement “Sophiedela” Youth segment (Europe/NL)
• Africans on the Move
• African People of Love
• African Union African Diaspora 6^th Region Europe
• African World Studies Institute (The Netherlands)
• Africana Studies Program, Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ
• All African People Revolutionary Party
• Amos N Wilson Institute
• Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI)
• Black People Against Police Torture
• Boon Ja Ba
• Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign
• Committee in Remembrance of Swedish Transatlantic Slave Trade
• DDPA Watch Group
• December 12th Movement
• The Drammeh Institute
• Fahamu - Networks for Social Justice. Senegal, South Africa, Kenya and UK
• Federation of African Diaspora Organisations “UN BONDRU” (republic Suriname)
• Fellowship of Reconciliation USA
• Foreign Policy in Focus
• Freedom Road Socialist Organization (OSCL)
• Global Afrikan Congress
• The Human Rights Project at the Urban Justice Center
• Independent Jewish Voices
• International Association Against Torture
• International Human Rights Association of American Minorities
• International Indian Treaty Council (IITC)
• International Youth and Student Movement for the United Nations (ISMUN)
• Jericho Movement - Chicago
• Latin American and Caribbean Community Center (LACCC)
• Malcolm X Grassroots Movements (MXGM)
• Marcus Garvey Institute
• Meiklejohn Civil Liberties Institute
• Mouvement International pour les Réparations
• National Council of Black Studies, USA
• National Lawyers Guild International Committee
• National Platform Dutch Slavery Past (LPS), a Federation of 19 organisations with divisions in The Netherlands, Curacao & republic Suriname
• N’COBRA Chicago
• North-South XXI
• Organization for Black Struggle
• Pambazuka News. Senegal, South Africa, Kenya and UK
• Priority Africa Network
• Prisoners of Conscious Committee
• Rising in Solidarity with Ayiti
• Swedish Committee for the International Year for People of African Descent
• Task Force for Black Political Empowerment
• Tiye International, Federation of 22 Black, Migrant & Refugee women & Youth organisations
• TransAfrica Forum, Washington, D.C, USA
• Pan African & Strategic working Group (Europe/NL)
• Pan African Diaspora Union (Europe)
• The Praxis Project
• US Human Rights Network (USHRN)
• UTATU Collective
• VOTE
• WE Umoja People
• World Against Racism Network (WARN)

Individuals (Organizations and Professions for Identification Only)

• Prof. Samba Buri MBOUP, University of South Africa
• Colia L Clark, Chair, (HUERA) Humanism Unity Equity Rights and the Arts, Coordinator, International Commission of Inquiry on Haiti USA
• James Counts Early, Director Cultural Heritage Policy Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, Smithsonian Institution
• Bill Fletcher, Jr., BlackCommentator.com
• Glen Ford, Executive Editor, BlackAgendaReport.com 
• Zakiyyah Samimah Muhammad
• Vernellia R. Randall, Professor of Law, The University of Dayton School of Law