A/HRC/27/68
against Women had received individual complaints concerning people of African descent.
The member of the secretariat replied that the only joint initiative remained that of the
Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Committee on the Elimination of
Discrimination against Women concerning harmful practices. The Committee on the
Elimination of Discrimination against Women had not received any individual complaints
specifically concerning women of African descent.
34.
Verene Shepherd delivered a presentation entitled “Justice for people of African
descent through history education: addressing psychological rehabilitation”, which
supported the ongoing discussion on how formerly colonized people, specifically those in
the Caribbean and the African Diaspora, could experience psychological rehabilitation and
develop an African-centred knowledge programme that would help to address the cultural
rupture caused by the transatlantic slave trade. She said that the draft programme of action
for the International Decade for People of African Descent prioritized culturally sensitive
education for children and youth. She emphasized the importance of revisionist history
education, which represented a more liberating narrative of self, instead of what so many
formerly colonized people had been taught. She concluded that it was important to honour
post-colonial historians, who had provided a road map for true mental liberation.
35.
Martyn Day, a senior partner with Leigh Day, a law firm in the United Kingdom,
delivered a presentation on the roots of contemporary injustices and ways to attain justice
for people of African descent. He gave an overview of contemporary routes to justice for
historical wrongs worldwide and of reparations in relation to the slave trade, providing a
number of examples of States that had apologized for past wrongs and cases in which that
had been supported with monetary compensation for victims. He also detailed various
claims for reparations in relation to the slave trade and provided information on the case
concerning five elderly Kenyans who had been victims of torture by the British colonial
administration in Kenya during the Mau Mau uprising, which had led to the landmark
decision of the Government of the United Kingdom to compensate the victims.
36.
During the interactive discussions, NGO representatives asked about issues such as
teaching the history and culture of people of African descent to people who were not of
African descent and dealing with cases of reparations at the international level and the
implications thereof, including cases involving multinational or transnational corporations.
In response, Ms. Shepherd said that it was important to teach the correct history and culture
of people of African descent to all the world to enable the contribution of people of African
descent to the world at large to be recognized. In relation to reparations, Mr. Day said that
there had been several legal cases involving multinational companies. He added that the
media had played an important role in highlighting the Mau Mau case.
37.
In addition to the panel discussions, the Working Group sought to reach out to a
wider audience and had organized a programme of talks focusing on access to justice for
people of African descent, in collaboration with OHCHR and the Library of the United
Nations Office at Geneva. During the programme, Ms. Shepherd delivered a lecture entitled
“Reparation and the right to development: the CARICOM case”. She informed the audience
about ongoing developments in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) region in relation
to reparations, including the CARICOM Reparatory Justice Programme and the action plan
for its implementation. Catherine Fiankan-Bokonga, Vice-President of the Foreign Press
Association in Switzerland and Liechtenstein (APES), gave a presentation on the role of the
media in promoting access to justice for people of African descent. She said that, while
there was much potential in the media to promote the rights of people of African descent, it
was particularly difficult to do so owing to the inherent challenges in reporting on issues
related to the rights of people of African descent.
38.
A staff member from the Library of the United Nations Office at Geneva presented
the Online Resource Guide of the Library on people of African descent. The Online
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