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AG/RES. 2693 (XLI-O/11)
RECOGNITION AND PROMOTION OF THE RIGHTS OF PEOPLE OF AFRICAN DESCENT
IN THE AMERICAS
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
RECALLING resolution AG/RES. 2550 (XL-O/10), “Recognition of the International Year for People of African Descent,” which recognizes United Nations General Assembly resolution 64/169 that proclaims 2011 the International Year for People of African Descent; and the special meeting of the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS), held on March 15, 2011, to commemorate the International Year for People of African Descent; and
BEARING IN MIND:
That the Charter of the Organization of American States establishes as one of the principles of the Organization recognition of the fundamental rights of the individual without distinction as to race, nationality, creed, or sex;
That the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man establishes that all men are born free and equal, in dignity and in rights, without distinction as to race, sex, language, creed or any other; and
That the Inter-American Democratic Charter proclaims that respect for ethnic, cultural, and religious diversity in the Americas contributes to strengthening democracy and citizen participation;
That in February 2005, in recognition of the racial discrimination that persists against persons of African descent in the Americas, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) established a Special Rapporteurship on the Rights of Persons of African Descent and on Racial Discrimination, in order to promote the recognition and the rights of those persons;
RECALLING the relevant provisions on people of African descent contained in the declarations of the Summits of the Americas, as well as in the Declaration of the Regional Conference of the Americas (Preparatory Meeting for the Third World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia, and Related Intolerance), held in Santiago, Chile, in 2000; and the Latin American and Caribbean conference preparatory to the Durban Review Conference, held in Brasilia, 2008;
RECALLING FURTHER the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, adopted by the World Conference on Human Rights in 1993, and the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, adopted by the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance in 2001; and the Durban Review Conference, held in Geneva in 2009;
REAFFIRMING the firm commitment of the member states to confront, through various mechanisms, the scourge of racism, discrimination, and intolerance in their societies as a problem that affects society in general;
TAKING NOTE of the efforts of member states to move forward with the drafting of a “Draft Inter-American Convention against Racism and All Forms of Discrimination and Intolerance”;
CONSIDERING that countries of Africa and the Americas, in the framework of bilateral and multilateral forums, have committed themselves to encourage regional and interregional initiatives to promote democracy, human rights, the rule of law, and the eradication of poverty, hunger, inequality, and social exclusion through the exchange of experiences among their regional organizations and subregional organizations, including the African Union and the Organization of American States (OAS), in matters of strengthening democracy and integral development at regional and interregional levels,
RESOLVES:
1. To reaffirm the importance of the full, free, and equal participation of people of African descent in all aspects of political, economic, social, and cultural life in the countries of the Americas.
2. To take note of the work of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and its Rapporteurship on the Rights of Afro-descendants and against Racial Discrimination, as well as the work of the General Secretariat that seeks to promote and protect the rights of persons of African descent in the member states.
3. To condemn the practices of racism, discrimination, and intolerance, of which people of African descent in the Hemisphere are victims, and to urge states to take necessary measures to address and combat those practices.
4. To reiterate the instructions given to the Permanent Council through resolution AG/RES. 2550 (XL-O/10) to convene a second special meeting on cooperation between the Americas and Africa, with the participation of the African diplomatic corps and representatives of the African Union Commission as well as Organization of American States (OAS) permanent representatives.
5. To instruct the Permanent Council to include on its agenda, prior to the forty-second regular session of the General Assembly, the issue of people of African descent in the Americas.
6. To request the Permanent Council to report to the General Assembly at its forty-second regular session on the implementation of this resolution.
7. That the execution of the activities envisaged in this resolution shall be subject to the availability of financial resources in the program-budget of the Organization and other resources.
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