Ninth Session of the Forum on Minority Issues on “Minorities in Situations of Humanitarian Crises” Statement by the 2016 Fellows of People of African Descent, OHCHR Geneva, 24 – 25 November 2016 Good afternoon, President and esteemed participants of the Forum on Minority Issues, Thank you for the opportunity to speak to this privileged Forum. I am Khitanya Petgrave from Jamaica, representing the 2016 Fellows of People of African Descent, a programme for human rights advocates by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. We would like to address the following issues concerning People of African Descent regarding humanitarian crises in migration. The current global migration is overshadowed by a humanitarian and human rights crisis. As , the numbers of the migrants who have died crossing the Mediterranean Sea are astronomical. A 2016 IOM report states that 2,901 people died en route while crossing from Africa to Europe during the period January to June 2016. In six months only! Other charities such as the Spanish NGO “Movimiento Por La Paz” and “Doctors without Borders” have recorded similar figures. We will never know the real numbers because these are estimates based primarily on survivors’ testimonies. Dear President, The vast majority of the people are of African descent, fleeing because of war, political instability, and persecution from countries including those from Northeastern and Northwestern Africa. Many are preyed upon by smugglers and violated by national authorities according to the above mentioned IOM report. If they are fortunate enough to arrive to countries in Europe including Germany and France through other countries including Spain and Italy, they face systematic racism, racial discrimination and Afrophobia. Their basic access to human rights are limited, they lack access to basic health services, accommodation needs, and work permits. We would also like to highlight