A/HRC/60/77 strategizing in three ways – having a common understanding of the meaning of reparatory justice, considering the changing geopolitical dynamics to promote possible advancements in reparatory justice and being strategic by focusing on pragmatic and achievable goals. 86. Mr. Wareham recalled that the 2001 World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance in Durban had been a fight, a resistance and a victory. He outlined the historical background and the advocacy carried out by civil society organizations at the 1993 Vienna World Conference on Human Rights to obtain a decision to convene the 2001 World Conference, emphasizing the obstacles posed by several western countries. He raised concerns regarding the proclamation of the Second International Decade for People of African Descent, explaining that it downplayed the question of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action and ignored the work of the Working Group and other follow-up mechanisms. He argued that the proclamation fell into the pattern of disappearing the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action and what it represented. 87. Member of the National Commission on Reparations of Jamaica, Sydney Bartley, shared his memories about the 2001 World Conference, recalling several disagreements, including pushbacks from European delegates against the inclusion of the notion of race in the discussions, and advocacy by his organization in favour of its inclusion. He noted the growing boycott of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action since its adoption and invited all stakeholders to read it carefully, in particular paragraph 13, which acknowledged slavery and the slave trade, especially the transatlantic slave trade, as crimes against humanity, and paragraph 58, which recalled that the Holocaust must never be forgotten. He invited the Working Group to defend the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action and called upon the United Nations to hold a conference on reparations in 2026. 88. Ms. Biekman recalled her memories of the 2001 World Conference and explained the efforts that she and her organization had undertaken for the inclusion of colonialism and enslavement on the agenda of the Conference while some States had opposed it. She also recalled the global campaign and civil society organizations’ advocacy for slavery and the transatlantic slave trade to be acknowledged as crimes against humanity in the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action. 89. Co-founder and co-Chair of the N’COBRA Health Commission, Onaje Muid, noted that N’COBRA recognized that reparations were a just demand for all African peoples and that reparations should include the minimum international standards of satisfaction, compensation, restitution, rehabilitation and cessation. He explained that, as a result of attending the Durban Conference, his organization had found horrifying confirmation that other African peoples were suffering similar harms, divided into five categories: peoplehood and nationhood, education, criminal punishment, wealth and poverty, and health. He concluded that the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action should be used as the blueprint for fighting racism. 90. In the ensuing discussions, civil society representatives shared the memories of their participation in the 2001 World Conference, including the leadership role that the delegates of their countries had played in shaping the discussions. They expressed support for the call to hear local voices and recognized obstacles to that end, regretting the lack of support from some countries to organizations working on the rights of people of African descent while those people still suffered the remnants of discriminatory laws and policies. They highlighted that some African countries had taken initiatives to provide land to people of African descent who returned to the continent and called upon the Working Group to facilitate that process. They urged the Working Group to design and support collaboration programmes with civil society and underscored the need to promote partnerships and collaboration with civil society groups. 91. In conclusion, Mr. Wallace recalled that the event highlighted two essential elements for future work, namely the need to honour the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action itself and to take from it the action items for moving forward. 92. He shared specific recommendations that Jamaica would support, notably to quantify harm by country and region, to engage with perpetrator countries with the aim of convening a discussion on an agreement, to establish a repository of the actors and allies that could be part of a global coalition, to engage with countries and institutions that had managed to reach 13

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