Each 31 August is celebrated as United Nations International Day for People of African Descent.

The Thammasat University Library collection includes many books about different aspects of life in Africa that may be useful for students interested in history, political science, diplomacy, economics, sociology, anthropology, and related subjects.

As the UN website explains,

The 2023 Mid-Year Update of the Global Humanitarian Needs Overview estimated that 362 million people in the world need humanitarian assistance.

The International Day for People of African Descent was celebrated for the first time on 31 August 2021. Through this Observance the United Nations aimed to promote the extraordinary contributions of the African diaspora around the world and to eliminate all forms of discrimination against people of African descent.

International days reflect the values that society shares. All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and have the potential to contribute constructively to the development and well-being of their societies. Any doctrine of racial superiority is scientifically false, morally condemnable, socially unjust, and dangerous and must be rejected, together with theories that attempt to determine the existence of separate human races.

The United Nations strongly condemns the continuing violent practices and excessive use of force by law enforcement agencies against Africans and people of African descent and condemns structural racism in criminal justice systems around the world. The Organization further acknowledges the Transatlantic Slave Trade as one of the darkest chapters in our human history and upholds human dignity and equality for the victims of slavery, the slave trade and colonialism, in particular people of African descent in the African diaspora.

2024 marks the final year in International Decade for People of African Descent (2015-2024).

The UN website notes:

The International Decade aims to celebrate the important contributions of people of African descent worldwide, advance social justice and inclusion policies, eradicate racism and intolerance, promote human rights, and assist in creating better, more prosperous communities, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals spearheaded by the United Nations.

Programme of Activities for the Implementation of the International Decade for People of African Descent

The UN General Assembly proclaimed 2015-2024 as the International Decade for People of African Descent (resolution 68/237) citing the need to strengthen national, regional and international cooperation in relation to the full enjoyment of economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights by people of African descent, and their full and equal participation in all aspects of society.

As proclaimed by the General Assembly, the theme for the International Decade is “People of African descent: recognition, justice and development.”

Objectives of the Decade

The main objectives of the International Decade are as follows:

• Promote respect, protection and fulfilment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by people of African Descent, as recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;
• Promote a greater knowledge of and respect for the diverse heritage, culture and contribution of people of African descent to the development of societies;
• Adopt and strengthen national, regional and international legal frameworks according to the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and to ensure their full and effective implementation.

Programme of Activities implementation

The Programme of Activities for the Implementation of the International Decade for People of African Descent, which was endorsed by the General Assembly, is to be implemented at several levels.

At the national level, states should take concrete and practical steps through the adoption and effective implementation of national and international legal frameworks, policies and programmes to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance faced by people of African descent, taking into account the particular situation of women, girls and young males in the following areas:

• Recognition
• Justice
• Development
• Multiple or aggravated discrimination […]

Recognition

The right to equality and non-discrimination

States should:

• Remove all obstacles that prevent their equal enjoyment of all human rights, economic, social, cultural, civil and political, including the right to development;
• Promote the effective implementation of national and international legal frameworks;
• Withdraw reservations contrary to the object and purpose of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and consider withdrawing other reservations;
• Undertake a comprehensive review of domestic legislation with a view to identifying and abolishing provisions that entail direct or indirect discrimination;
• Adopt or strengthen comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation and ensure its effective implementation;
• Provide effective protection for people of African descent, and review and repeal all laws that have a discriminatory effect on people of African descent facing multiple, aggravated or intersecting forms of discrimination;
• Adopt, strengthen and implement action-oriented policies, programmes and projects to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance designed to ensure full and equal enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms by people of African descent; States are also encouraged to elaborate national plans of action to promote diversity, equality, equity, social justice, equality of opportunity and the participation of all;
• Establish and/or strengthen national mechanisms or institutions with a view to formulating, monitoring and implementing policies to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, and promoting racial equality, with the participation of representatives of civil society;
• As appropriate, establish and/or strengthen independent national human rights institutions, in conformity with the Paris Principles, and/or similar mechanisms with the participation of civil society, and provide them with adequate financial resources, competence and capacity for protection, promotion and monitoring to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.

Education on equality and awareness-raising

States should:

• Celebrate the launch of the International Decade at the national level, and develop national programmes of action and activities for the full and effective implementation of the Decade;
• Organize national conferences and other events aimed at triggering an open debate and raising awareness on the fight against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, with the participation of all relevant stakeholders, including government, civil society representatives and individuals or groups of individuals who are victims;
• Promote greater knowledge and recognition of and respect for the culture, history and heritage of people of African descent, including through research and education, and promote full and accurate inclusion of the history and contribution of people of African descent in educational curricula;
• Promote the positive role that political leaders and political parties, leaders of religious communities and the media could further play in fighting racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance by, inter alia, publicly recognizing and respecting the culture, history and heritage of people of African descent;
• Raise awareness through information and education measures with a view to restoring the dignity of people of African descent, and consider making available the support for such activities to non-governmental organizations;
• Support education and training initiatives for non-governmental organizations and people of African descent in the use of the tools provided by international human rights instruments relating to racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance;
• Ensure that textbooks and other educational materials reflect historical facts accurately as they relate to past tragedies and atrocities, in particular slavery, the slave trade, the transatlantic slave trade and colonialism, so as to avoid stereotypes and the distortion or falsification of these historic facts, which may lead to racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, including the role of respective countries therein, by:
• Supporting research and educational initiatives;
• Giving recognition to the victims and their descendants through the establishment of memorial sites in countries that profited from and/or were responsible for slavery, the slave trade, the transatlantic slave trade and colonialism and past tragedies where there is none, as well as at departure, arrival and relocation points, and by protecting related cultural sites.

(All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)