High Commissioner Türk: Repairing historical injustices is key to dismantling systemic racism

Mr. President,

Excellencies,

Colonialism, enslavement, and the trade in enslaved Africans are not just grim chapters of our common history.

Their impact stretches into the present, fuelling inequalities and perpetuating systemic racism against Africans and people of African descent.

Across the world, people of African descent face entrenched barriers across many areas of life, including access to education, healthcare, work, housing, policing, climate policy, and even in digital spaces.

Racism and dehumanizing rhetoric still permeate our institutions, communities and online platforms.

And anti-racism laws and policies are not effectively implemented in several States. 

         Systemic racism against Africans and people of African descent was built up over generations, and it can - and must - be torn down.

Any meaningful attempts to end systemic racism must involve taking responsibility for the legacies of colonialism, enslavement, and the trade in enslaved Africans. And the harm caused must be repaired.

Reparatory justice is about exposing and coming to terms with the truth of our common history.

Not erasing it, ignoring it or rewriting it.

         What does reparatory justice look like?

There is no one-size-fits-all formula. The report before you outlines the key elements of a comprehensive approach, grounded in international human rights law.

Such an approach includes a variety of measures to repair the legacies of the past, and memorialize the suffering, resilience, resistance and dignity of victims. 

Over the past several years, countries have taken action in different ways.

Some governments have offered formal apologies to their own communities or to other States, including Belgium, Brazil, Germany and the Netherlands.

In some countries, truth-telling initiatives have produced research, and I urge them to turn their findings into concrete recommendations. In others, such as Colombia, France, Mauritius, Mexico, Qatar, Senegal, and South Africa, museums have been opened, and commemorative days or months marked.

In Belgium, Ghana, Mexico, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States and the Caribbean for example, statues or place names linked to people involved in enslavement or colonialism have been identified, removed or contextualised – while in some cases we have seen a rollback.

Civil society groups are measuring the continuing impacts of the trade in enslaved Africans in the Americas and the Caribbean.

Some individuals have claimed compensation before courts, which has helped strengthen public movements and foster political pressure for change.

Other stakeholders, including museums, universities, religious groups, companies and even banks, have researched, acknowledged and in some cases apologized for their links with the past. I hope to see more initiatives like this, and for all these stakeholders to participate in State-led measures.

These are all important steps, but much more is needed. 

Because so far, no State has fully accounted for the harms of systemic racism, past and present.

I see five areas which require urgent attention, and that will help move the needle on reparatory justice.

First, political commitment.

States hold the power to tackle racial discrimination. The Second International Decade for People of African Descent is an opportunity for political leaders to lead with concrete, creative action to advance reparatory justice.

Second, genuine, continuous consultation with affected communities. For example, consulting them on the content, timing, place and delivery of a formal apology can make all the difference between an authentic apology that is welcomed, or one that rings hollow.

Africans and people of African descent in all their diversity – women in particular – need to guide the design and implementation of reparatory justice processes. They must be able to meaningfully and safely participate in decision-making processes and inform an intersectional analysis for effective responses.

Third, cooperation. There is great value in countries coming together to promote and pursue reparatory justice – across borders and regions – especially when their histories are connected by colonialism and enslavement. I am encouraged by the growing number of such initiatives, including by the African Union and CARICOM.

Fourth, full support for civil society organizations. Especially when led by people of African descent, they have spurred States, the United Nations and others to take bolder steps towards reparatory justice. They have often driven progress where Governments have failed to act.

I also encourage solidarity across equality and human rights movements, especially in these days of growing polarization and divisions. Building partnerships and learning from each other can inspire and unite.

Finally, global reform to help correct historical exclusions. Stronger African representation on the UN Security Council is an important step, as many nations were still under colonial rule when the system was created. Reforming development aid and financial systems would also ease crushing debt, enabling African economies to invest in education, health, and other essential needs.

My Office is a steadfast partner.

We support States in advancing the rights of people of African descent. We create spaces for active listening and dialogue with Africans and people of African descent, and we do everything in our power to help protect human rights defenders working on these issues. Our Office’s fellowship programme for people of African descent can have impact that multiplies across communities.

Reparatory justice is also about shaping a new, more equal future.

Reparations deliver justice. Justice fosters trust. And trust unites our communities.

We need to act boldly, together, to achieve these important goals.