High Commissioner Türk: We must dismantle systemic injustice against people of African descent

Mr. Chair,

Mr. President,

Distinguished members of the Permanent Forum,

Delegates and participants,

I have to say that whenever I come to the Permanent Forum, it fills me with joy, energy, and inspiration. The first performance we saw was about hope, and we need hope more than ever in the current environment.

It is a pleasure to be here with you, with so many people among you whose courage, determination, and lived experiences have shaped the movement for racial justice and equality, and specifically for people of African descent.

Over the past decades, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action – which by the way turns 25 this year - have spurred important advances.

Several States have adopted anti-discrimination laws and created independent human rights and equality institutions. Some have taken steps towards reparatory justice for colonialism, enslavement and the trade in enslaved Africans. This is key to dismantling systemic racism.

Yet, if we look around the world, progress is uneven and fragile – and in some cases, being pushed back.

People of African descent around the world face specific and damaging discrimination, exclusion, and dehumanization every single day – from hospitals, to classrooms, to workplaces, to encounters with law enforcement.

Across regions, poverty rates among people of African descent are consistently higher, especially for women, young people, and those affected by intersecting forms of discrimination.

People of African descent continue to bear the brunt of environmental degradation, including pollution and extreme weather events.

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

Digital technologies, including AI, are reproducing and amplifying existing biases against people of African descent.

These daily realities are rooted in generations of suffering ignored, and responsibilities evaded. Sometimes, they are even rooted in attempts to rewrite history.

They are the direct legacy of colonialism and enslavement.

The consequences of these deep injustices reverberate down generations.

To take just one example, countries with communities of African descent, with economies that were exploited under colonial rule, are among the hardest hit by the climate emergency. Years of environmental damage have left them disproportionately exposed to climate shocks they did little to cause.

Distinguished friends and participants,

I see three elements that can guide efforts to deliver racial justice and equality for people of African descent.

First, adopting and enforcing anti-racism laws, policies and practices can lay the foundation for safer, fairer, and more inclusive societies where people of African descent can thrive.

Many countries still lack anti-racism legislation, and not even one quarter have comprehensive anti-discrimination laws.

To complement these efforts, I also encourage States to engage meaningfully in the ongoing negotiations on the UN Declaration on the human rights of people of African descent.

Second, efforts must be inclusive of young people, civil society, and more – all the stakeholders.

Young people of African descent are too often excluded from the decisions that impact their lives. They need to be involved in decision-making in all areas and at all levels – from climate policy to development to digital governance, and beyond. Their energy, ideas, and activism in the face of injustice, can inspire us all to act.

Full support for civil society is also crucial. Civil society organizations, especially when led by people of African descent, have pressed States, the United Nations and others towards bolder action on racial justice. Their advocacy, for example, has been key to accountability for police violence against people of African descent; and they were central to establishing this Permanent Forum.

I would also like to stress the need for all efforts to be gender inclusive, and to take all intersecting forms of discrimination into account. 

Third, building and maintaining momentum towards reparatory justice for the legacies of the past.

I welcome the UN General Assembly's recent declaration that trafficking in enslaved Africans was a crime against humanity.

The African Union declared 2026-2036 the Decade on Reparations.

CARICOM is updating its 10-point plan for reparatory justice, with an increased focus on gender and marginalized people.

Some governments, institutions, and other stakeholders have issued apologies, memorialized histories, which is very important, and returned artefacts.

At the same time, efforts to advance reparatory justice are facing resistance in some quarters. So, we need to make sure that advocacy around it is creative and firmly grounded in human rights.

And in fact, the entire human rights ecosystem, including the UN anti-racism mechanisms, offers guidance and tools to support all these efforts.

And my Office is a committed partner, including within the framework of the Second International Decade for People of African Descent.

We support States to advance the human rights of people of African descent. We create spaces for engagement with communities, so that their expertise and lived experiences shape the actions we take. And this is very much of course in those countries where we are present.

I particularly appreciate our Fellowship Programme for People of African Descent, and always find my meetings with the Fellows to be inspiring and thought-provoking. I am particularly proud of our alumni. They have become a huge network around the world who keep in touch and who keep the connection with the United Nations system alive, and this is very important.

Distinguished participants,

Your observations and conclusions at this Forum will be crucial to inform next steps.

Our humanity is bound together – and together, we can dismantle systemic injustice against people of African descent.

Together, we can build more equal, more compassionate, and more inclusive societies for the benefit of all.

Thank you very much.