Permanent Forum of People of African Descent

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In news- Recently, the UN General Assembly approved a resolution establishing a Permanent Forum of People of African Descent.

About the Permanent Forum-

• The forum is named as the United Nations Permanent Forum of People of African Descent.
• It would provide expert advice on addressing the challenges of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance.
• The new UN resolution 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.
• As per the UN’s resolution forum’s first session will take place in 2022.
• The resolution 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.
• Its establishment comes during the International Decade for People of African Descent, established by the General Assembly, which began on January 1, 2015, and ends on December 31, 2024. 
• The decade is focusing on the themes of recognition, justice and development.
• The new body’s creation comes ahead of the 20th anniversary of the controversial September 2001 UN 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 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.
• Its mandates are to ensure “the full political, economic and social inclusion of people of African descent,” and to provide expert advice and recommendations on addressing racism to the Geneva-based Human Rights Council, the General Assembly’s main committees and UN agencies.

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