UN creates Permanent Forum of People of African Descent

Context:  Recently, U.N. creates permanent body to address challenges of racism.

• UN General Assembly approved a resolution by establishing a Permanent Forum of People of African Descent to provide expert advice on addressing the challenges of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance.

Key Points

• The new body’s creation comes ahead of the 20th anniversary of the controversial September 2001 U.N. World Conference Against Racism in Durban, South Africa, which was dominated by clashes over the Middle East and the legacy of slavery.
• The forum will provide expert advice on addressing the challenges of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance.
• The resolution adopted by consensus by the 193-member world body also calls for the forum to serve as “a platform for improving the safety and quality of life and livelihoods of people of African descent” and their full inclusion in the societies where they live.
• UNGA states that despite efforts to combat racism, instances and various forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance remain widespread and should be condemned.
• All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and have the potential to contribute constructively to the development and well-being of their societies.”
• Any doctrine of racial superiority is scientifically false, morally condemnable, socially unjust and dangerous and must be rejected, together with theories that attempt to determine the existence of separate human races.

Structure the Forum

• Permanent Forum of People of African Descent was given a series of mandates. 

They include 

• helping to ensure “the full political, economic and social inclusion of people of African descent,” and 
• providing expert advice and recommendations.

The forum will consist of 10 members:-

• five elected by the General Assembly from all regions and 
• five appointed by the Human Rights Council following consultations with regional groups and organizations of people of African descent.

It calls for the forum’s first session to take place in 2022. 

• It also calls for annual reports to the assembly and the council on the forum’s activities, and an evaluation of its operation by the General Assembly after four sessions, based on an evaluation by the Human Rights Council.

Challenges faced by People of African Descent

• Whether as descendants of the victims of the transatlantic slave trade or as more recent migrants, they constitute some of the poorest and most marginalized groups.
• They still have limited access to quality education, health services, housing and social security.
• They all too often experience discrimination in their access to justice, and face alarmingly high rates of police violence, together with racial profiling.
• Furthermore, their degree of political participation is often low, both in voting and in occupying political positions.

Initiatives Against Racism

• Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (2001): Adopted by the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance.
• Every year, 21st March, is observed as International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
• United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) actions against racism through education, the sciences, culture, and communication offer an example of a way forward.
• Global Forum against Racism and Discrimination 2021: UNESCO’s headquarters in Paris hosted it in partnership with the Republic of Korea.
• In January 2021, the World Economic Forum launched a coalition of organizations committed to improving racial and ethnic justice in the workplace.
• The ‘Black Lives Matter’ protests gained momentum in not only the United States but the whole world. People, as well as many governments across different countries, came forth against the prevalence of racial discrimination worldwide.

Provisions Against Racial Discrimination in India

• Article 15, Article 16 and Article 29 of the Constitution of India prohibit discrimination on grounds of “race”.
• Section 153A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) also refers to “race”.
• India also ratified the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) in 1968.