Establishment of the Permanent Forum of People of African Descent

A/RES/75/314View PDF

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 70bComprehensive implementation of and follow-up to the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, published in 2020.

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

2 entities

Extracted automatically from each entity’s budget submission.

What subjects does this mandate have?

5 topics

Africans Anti-Discrimination Measures Human Rights People of African Descent Racial Discrimination

What does this mandate say?

19 operative paragraphs

Decides to establish the Permanent Forum of People of African Descent as a consultative mechanism for people of African descent and other relevant stakeholders as a platform for improving the safety and quality of life and livelihoods of people of African descent, as well as an advisory body to the Human Rights Council, in line with paragraph 29 (i) of the programme of activities for the implementation of the International Decade for People of African Descent and in close coordination with existing mechanisms, with the mandate:

To contribute to the full political, economic and social inclusion of people of African descent in the societies in which they live as equal citizens without discrimination of any kind and contribute to ensuring equal enjoyment of all human rights;

To provide, in coordination with existing mechanisms, expert advice and recommendations to the Human Rights Council, the Main Committees of the General Assembly and organs, programmes, funds and agencies of the United Nations aimed at addressing challenges of all the scourges of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance and all their contemporary forms and manifestations confronted by people of African descent and that impede the full and effective realization and enjoyment of all their human rights and fundamental freedoms;

To consider the elaboration of a United Nations declaration on the promotion, protection and full respect of the human rights of people of African descent;

To identify and analyse best practices, challenges, opportunities and initiatives to address, as appropriate, the issues highlighted in the provisions of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action relevant to people of African descent;

To monitor and review progress on the effective implementation of the programme of activities of the International Decade for People of African Descent, and to this end gather relevant information from Governments, United Nations bodies and organs, intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organizations and other relevant sources;

To request the preparation and dissemination of information by the United Nations system on issues relating to people of African descent and promote a greater knowledge of and respect for the diverse heritage, culture and contribution of people of African descent to the development of societies;

To raise awareness and promote integration and coordination of activities of agencies, funds and programmes relating to people of African descent within the United Nations system;

To support the coordination of programmes aimed at the socioeconomic development of communities and people of African descent, and to examine the urgent global need to establish adequate channels to obtain data disaggregated by income, sex, age, race, ethnicity, migratory status, disability, geographical location and other characteristics relevant in national contexts, to enable the systematic design and collection of and access to high-quality, reliable and timely disaggregated data and gender statistics, conducive to the better execution of public policies in relation to people of African descent;

To offer advice and recommendations on matters concerning the protection, promotion and respect of all human rights of people of African descent, and to undertake any specific task as requested by the Human Rights Council or the General Assembly;

Also decides that the Permanent Forum shall consist of 10 members: 5 members to be nominated by Governments, based on equitable geographical distribution, and elected by the General Assembly and 5 members to be appointed by the President of the Human Rights Council following consultation with the Bureau and the regional groups through their coordinators, on the basis of broad consultations with organizations of people of African descent; membership shall take into account the diversity and geographical distribution of people of African descent in the world, ensuring gender parity as well as the principles of transparency, representativity and equal opportunity for all people of African descent, and all members shall serve in their personal capacity as independent experts on issues of people of African descent for a period of three years with the possibility of re-election or reappointment for one further period;

Further decides that the Permanent Forum shall be open to the participation of States, United Nations mechanisms, bodies and specialized agencies, funds and programmes, intergovernmental organizations, regional organizations and mechanisms in the field of human rights, national human rights institutions and other relevant national bodies, academics and experts on issues related to people of African descent and non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council; the Permanent Forum shall also be open to the participation of other non-governmental organizations, including grass-roots and community-based organizations, whose aims and purposes are in conformity with the spirit, purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations;

Decides that the Permanent Forum shall submit an annual report to the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly on its activities, including advice and recommendations for future thematic subjects for their consideration, and engage in the interactive dialogue; the report shall be distributed to all Member States and the relevant United Nations organs, funds, programmes and agencies as a means, inter alia, of furthering the dialogue within the United Nations system on issues affecting people of African descent;

Also decides that the Permanent Forum of People of African Descent shall appoint for each session, on the basis of regional rotation, and in consultation with regional groups and organizations of people of African descent, a Chair and a Vice-Chair of the Permanent Forum of People of African Descent selected from among the members of the Permanent Forum; the Permanent Forum shall appoint the Rapporteur from among the members of the Permanent Forum, who may retain this role for successive sessions without rotation; the Chair, Vice-Chair and Rapporteur, serving in their personal capacity, shall be responsible for the preparation of a summary of the discussions of the Forum, to be made available to all participants in the Forum;

Further decides that the Permanent Forum shall meet annually, rotating between the United Nations Office at Geneva and United Nations Headquarters or at such other place as the Permanent Forum may decide in accordance with existing financial rules and regulations of the United Nations, for four working days, allocated to thematic discussions, and decides that the Permanent Forum shall be organized, to the extent possible, back-to-back with a session of the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent or the Intergovernmental Working Group on the Effective Implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action;

Decides that the Permanent Forum will contribute to and promote the efforts of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to improve the cooperation among United Nations mechanisms, the universal periodic review, the Economic and Social Council high-level political forum on sustainable development, treaty bodies, special procedures and specialized agencies, funds and programmes on activities related to the promotion and protection and full respect of all human rights of people of African descent, including at the national and regional levels, ensuring that there is complementarity and non-duplication;

Requests that the work of the Permanent Forum be carried out in coordination with existing United Nations mechanisms relevant to the mandate of the Permanent Forum;

Requests the Secretary-General and the High Commissioner to provide the Permanent Forum, through the regular budget as well as voluntary contributions, with all necessary resources, including services and facilities, to fulfil its mandate, through the convening of the Permanent Forum, the organization of its sessions and the participation of relevant stakeholders from every region in its meetings, ensuring broadest, equitable geographical and diverse participation, including, in particular, the full and equal participation of women;

Decides that the Permanent Forum shall convene its first session the following year after the present resolution is adopted and that, after four annual sessions of the Permanent Forum, an evaluation of its modalities shall be carried out by the General Assembly on the basis of an evaluation made by the Human Rights Council in the light of the experience gained.

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