A/HRC/60/77 anti-Blackness and colonial exploitation should not be fragmented through isolated payouts, which would dilute any systemic change. 58. In response, Ms. Djenno emphasized the need for diverse yet unified solidarity while resisting Western comparisons, embracing distinct African cultural understandings of history and community and viewing reparations as deeply cultural and spiritual processes. Mr. Ross-Allam welcomed the reparations initiatives presented and the potential for ecumenical bodies, such as the World Council of Churches, to step up meaningfully. 59. The sixth panel, on the theme “Regional perspectives on reparatory justice: Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe and North America”, was chaired by Ms. Mamadou. 60. Permanent Representative of Haiti to the United Nations, Antonio Rodrigue, highlighted the Working Group’s progress in its work on reparatory justice and called upon the United Nations to prioritize reparatory justice internationally by formally recognizing slavery’s legacy and setting up legal frameworks and financial and institutional mechanisms for affected communities. He discussed the pivotal role of Haiti in global history through its revolution (1791–1804), which had dismantled the pro-slavery colonial order and inspired emancipation movements. He stressed that Haiti, as the first Black republic, affirmed the universal right to freedom, despite being unfairly burdened by an independence debt imposed by France in 1825, which had severely stifled its development. He underscored his country’s demand for restitution of the amount paid and formal recognition of that historical injustice. 61. Civil society representatives and participants asked about actions needed for prosperity and how to elevate the role of Haiti in the freedom of Black communities. They also enquired about the country’s collaboration with CARICOM. 62. Mr. Rodrigue replied that the Haitian diaspora lacked unity, which had hindered its collective impact despite significant remittances. He advocated more organized, large-scale development efforts, stressing the importance of unity among the diaspora and collective action for reparations, including compensation and restitution. He stated that the country’s role had been instrumentalized as a negative example, particularly in French overseas territories. He confirmed the collaboration of Haiti with CARICOM and its reparations working groups and called for global awareness of the country’s inspiring history. 63. Regarding Africa, Mr. Bugre emphasized that the case for reparations in Africa extended to Africans on the continent and those in the diaspora, highlighting the Pan African Movement’s long struggle for justice. He mentioned that, in its resolution 1339, the Organization of African Unity had called for reparations for the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans and colonialism, which it recognized as hindering the continent’s development. Mr. Bugre noted the African Union’s decision to proclaim 2025 as reparations year under the theme “Justice for Africa and people of African descent through reparations”, highlighting the need to address historical injustices and systemic racism and to reform global economic systems. 64. Regarding Latin America, human rights activist, founder of Agrupación Xango, member of Articulación Latinoamericana para los Decenios Afro and former National Director for Ethnic and Racial Equity, Migrants and Refugees of the National Secretariat for Human Rights of Argentina, Carlos Álvarez Nazareno, called for people of African descent to be recognized as peoples with collective rights, based on the jurisprudence of the inter-American human rights system and in accordance with the International Labour Organization Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169). 65. Regarding the Caribbean, the Chair of the National Platform Dutch Slavery Past, Barryl Biekman, stressed the importance of addressing enslavement’s lasting impact on unity among communities of African descent. She recalled the struggle to include the crimes committed against Africans in the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action and discussions at the 2001 World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, and her advocacy for Ubuntu principles (unity, respect, interconnectedness) to be included in reparations discussions at the Conference. She called upon former colonial powers to reject the historical myths of racial inferiority and European 10