Fourth session of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent

Panel #3: Policymaking and systemic racism: a human rights-based approach

The panel will take place on Wednesday 16 April from 10:00 to 13:00.

From a human rights perspective, developing social systems and structures that allow for the full enjoyment of all human rights, equality and non-discrimination ought to be the primary purpose of policymaking. This purpose is today as urgent and daunting as ever. Rather than increased equality within and among countries—as Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development calls on the international community to do—currently we are witnessing growing inequalities. Moreover, rather than increasing their efforts to realize basic principles of human rights and justice of the inherent and equal moral worth of the human person without distinction, such principles are increasingly being denounced and ignored by policymakers across the world. A future policymaking firmly based on promoting human dignity, rights, equality and nondiscrimination will need to recognize, monitor and address the collective human rights disparities faced by people of African descent within and among countries. This includes, for example, the recognition and addressing of inequalities in the enjoyment of human rights and the impacts of climate change and environmental degradation, and their roots in colonialism, neocolonialism, enslavement, genocide, apartheid, racial and ethnic nationalism.

This panel will reflect on human rights-based approaches to eradicating systemic racism within and among countries. Including, the development of creative new ways of holding States, the United Nations and policymaking accountable to the purpose of promoting human dignity, equality, non-discrimination and environmental sustainability, while recognizing and addressing systemic and structural inequalities. It will be an opportunity to reflect on the recognition of collective human rights as critical to addressing systemic racism, and to discuss good practices and new measures for the inclusion of racial justice and people of African descent in policymaking.