International Day for People of African Descent, August 31

International Day for People of African Descent, August 31
International Day for People of African Descent, August 31

In 2020, the General Assembly adopted a resolution on the International Day for People of African Descent. Observance of this day on 31 August each year is in line with the global and regional consensus on the need to promote and protect all the human rights and fundamental freedoms of people of African descent, as called for in the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, International Decade for People of African Descent (2015–2024), the Plan of the Decade for People of African Descent (2016-2025) and 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Join 31 August
Event: PAHO/OAS/RIAFRO
Transmission: Facebook @OEAInclusion

11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (WDC Time)

The term "Afro-descendant" was recognized by Member States and the United Nations as a legal and political concept adopted during the Regional Conference of the Americas held in Chile in 2000, in preparation for the Third World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance held in Durban, South Africa, in 2001.

Within the framework of efforts to address this situation, PAHO, OAS, and RIAFRO (The Inter-American Network of High Authorities on Policies for Afro-descendant Populations) are organizing a session to address racial discrimination, not only from the perspective of metrics and measurement, but in combination with a rights-based approach that recognizes the different perspectives of Afro-descendants.

Objectives:

  • Address issues related to racism and racial discrimination from a perspective of human rights and social determinants of health, in combination with efforts to monitor ethnic-racial inequalities in health
  • Discuss how to strengthen collaboration with strategic partners to address racism and racial discrimination
  • Discuss how to strengthen accountability in efforts to leave no one behind, incorporating the ethnic-racial dimension and, specifically, the health of the Afro-descendant population
  • To provide an overview of the magnitude and trends of health inequalities in the Afro-descendant population in the Americas

Date: 31 August 2022 

Time: 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (WDC Time)

Opening

Jessie Schutt-Aine, Equity, Gender and Cultural Diversity, PAHO

Panel Discussion

Moderators: Roberto Rojas (OAS) and Sandra Del Pino (PAHO)

Janaina Costa, University of Pelotas, PAHO/WHO Collaborating Center; International Center for Health Equity
 

Oscar Mujica and Adrienne Cox, Evidence and Intelligence for Action in Health, PAHO

Susana Matute, Inter-American Network of High Authorities on Policies for Afro-descendant Populations, RIAFRO

Pastor Murillo, Permanent Forum of People of African Descent, United Nations

Closing

RIAFRO