A/HRC/60/77 commissions had been set up across the United States. He advocated for reparations as a community-first project and for the creation of a United Nations tribunal for reparatory justice. 77. Vice Dean and the Radice Family Professor of Law at Cornell Law School, Chantal Thomas, argued that the legal objections to the provision of reparations conveyed by some actors were misinformed. She highlighted that international law sources supported the right to reparations and that recent scholarship had quantified the harm of chattel enslavement. 78. Director of the Diaspora Division of the African Union, Angela Odai, stated that the African Union recognized the principle of representation as fundamental in achieving reparatory justice. She stressed the need for a legal framework and for engaging with various stakeholders, including perpetrators, in the pursuit of reparatory justice. 79. Descendant of enslavers in the British Caribbean, journalist and philanthropist, Laura Trevelyan, spoke about the apology made by her family and about providing 100,000 pounds sterling in funding for education in Grenada. She underscored the selective amnesia that existed in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland regarding its role in enslavement and the payment of compensation to enslavers, not to enslaved persons, after abolition. 80. Mr. Nti Asare framed reparatory justice as a global commons that benefited all, emphasizing the need for broad alliances while ensuring that marginalized voices were central in the debate on reparatory justice. 81. Chair of the International Civil Society Working Group for the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent, Amara Enyia, discussed anti-Blackness as a global phenomenon that affected advocacy. She stressed the need to understand perpetrators and the systemic nature of the crimes and to advocate for the adoption of legal frameworks. She warned against State capture, where State interests superseded those of the people, and highlighted the critical healing role of reparations. 82. Participants discussed the need to keep the racism agenda alive in Geneva; the unrepresented status of the people of Bonaire under Dutch rule; and the need for partnerships between Governments and civil society, and between the Caribbean and Africa. 83. In conclusion, Mr. Hansford referred to the concept of “interest convergence” as a strategic framework to develop alliances where the interests of those in power aligned with the pursuit of racial justice. Ms. Thomas emphasized the role of lawyers in securing the legal framework and exploring connections between different forms of reparations. Ms. Odai stressed the need for innovative funding models and monitoring mechanisms. Ms. Trevelyan pointed to the growing momentum of discussions for reparatory justice in the United Kingdom and highlighted the CARICOM 10-Point Reparation Plan as a model. Mr. Nti Asare highlighted the importance of aligning offerings with incentives for partners and of providing clear toolkits for local governments. Ms. Enyia emphasized the need to tailor interventions to create a new world order based on the philosophical underpinnings of equality and on the willingness of allies to step out of their comfort zones. 84. The thirty-fifth session included a special event on the theme “Durban memoirs” to highlight the significance of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, as the most comprehensive and visionary framework against racism and the contemporary anti-racism architecture. The event was convened by the Permanent Mission of Jamaica to the United Nations and chaired by Ms. Reynolds. 85. Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Jamaica to the United Nations, Brian Christopher Manley Wallace, conveyed that the multilateral environment had changed since the adoption of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action and that, as State representatives, they must adapt. He noted that the first International Decade for People of African Descent had not achieved its goals and that much remained to be done. He explained that the approach towards the Second International Decade should be practical, strategic and focused on what was possible and achievable. Mr. Wallace thanked the Working Group for the targeted focus on reparatory justice for people of African descent, for which Jamaica strongly advocated. He recalled the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action as the cornerstone of the global anti-racism efforts in the twenty-first century. He recommended 12