**SPONSORED BY PADU (PAN AFRICAN DIASPORA UNION)

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 ACTION AGENDA FOR DURBAN + TEN INTERESTS

Joint Statement Prepared For the Tenth Anniversary of the Adoption of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (DDPA) on September, 12, 2011 

(including the statement that ‘Slavery and the Slave Trade Were Crimes Against Humanity…’)

The statement that follows is supported by over 450 African Diaspora and Women & Youth

Organizations, including:

• •      The National Platform for Dutch Slavery Past (LPS) (Divisions-- The

Netherlands, Curacao, and the Republic of Suriname);

• •      Federation of Black, Migrant & Refugee Women’s Organizations &

Youth Department of  Tiye International (The Netherlands), an NGO with UN Special

Consultative Status in ECOSOCC;

• •      African European Women’s Movement in the Netherlands (Sophiedela) ;
• •      Network/Experts & Civil Society of African (Diaspora) Non-State Actors

(The Netherlands);

• •      African World Studies Institute (STAWSI) in The Netherlands;
• •      African Union-African Diaspora 6th Region Facilitators Working Group-Europe Region;
• •      Pan African Strategic & Policy Group (PanAFSTRAG-Europe/NL);
• •      Pan African Diaspora Union-Europe (PADU);
• •      Sub Regional Diaspora Council Coalition (SRDC-WHS/Europe);
• •      Federation of African Diaspora Organizations (Un Bondru), Republic of

Suriname;

• •      United Nations Association (UNA) Suriname_ Focal point of Millennium

Development Goals (MDG) Global Watch;

• •      Mouvement International pour les Réparations (M.I.R.), Martinique and Paris;

Comité International des Peuples Noirs (C.I.P.N.), Guadeloupe;

• •      The International NGO Congress, Inc. (Coalition of

Barbados/Israel/Spain/UK);

• •      The IYPAD NGO, Inc., Barbados Chapter;
• •      Defensa di Interes di mucha i hende muhe (DeDiMa), Curacao;

• Reparations Research and Advocacy Group, USA;
• UNIA-ACL Legal Defense Fund, USA;
• SRDC-California Chapter
• Mothers for Africa, USA

1. We fully and completely support the UNGA reaffirmation of the DDPA and its

      affiliated documents.

2. We fully support the official statement submitted by the CERD (Committee on the

Elimination of Racial Discrimination) to the UNGA regarding the DDPA, August 8-September 2, 2011, to reaffirm the DDPA (2001) & the Final Resolution Durban Review, 2009.

3. We fully support the conclusions & recommendations made by the Working Group of Experts of   

      People of African Descent (WGEPAD) during the Tenth Session, March, 28 – April 1, 2011.

4. In respect to #3 above, we fully support the recommendation of the WGEPAD to introduce the use of  

      the term “Afrophobia” in its work in order to highlight the special and unique discrimination faced by  

      people of African descent, as analogous terms are used to address the stigmatization and prejudice

      against ethnic, religious and other vulnerable groups and other category of groups for instance in  

      Europe, as defined in Article 13 in the Treaty of Amsterdam.

5. We fully support all necessary actions toward ending the relentlessly negative and false  

      characterization by some nation states, including many media sources and organizations, that the  

      Anti-Racism UN World Conference (WCAR 2001) and the Review conference of 2009 were  

      gatherings which promoted racism or anti-Semitism. This is a false characterization of the  

      conferences and there is nothing in the approved decisions of the WCAR that supports that negative

      characterization.

6. We fully support re-energizing the drive to select, elect, and appoint more women into positions of

      decision making authority and analytical influence in the UN in general and the implementation of the

      DDPA in particular. We congratulate and support the efforts already made in that regard.

7. We fully support the conclusion that after ten years, the world needs more than mere re-affirmation of  

the DDPA and a re-commitment to its principles.We believe that there must be the political will for a re-commitment to its principles and the continuous effort to implement the Programme of Action.

8. We believe that the world needs full implementation of the DDPA and its affiliated documents taking

      into account the eight UN Millennium Development Goals as one of the most important Instruments

      to achieve Sustainable Human Development. Therefore, this stresses the important values of freedom,  

      responsibility and peace, and in general respect for and promotion / implementation of human

      rights for all. These values should also be defined in the framework of the contribution of the People

      in Diaspora to the development of their Countries of Origin, which contributions should be made

      available and used for the achievement of afore mentioned UN Millennium Development Goals

      (MDGs).

9. The world needs the Durban Declaration and the implementation of the Programme of Action for an

     equitable world.

10. The UN and Regional Organizations need a thorough evaluation of the progress of implementing the

      DDPA, including a publication of the names of the nation states in all the Regions that have done little

      or nothing to relieve, neutralize or eradicate racism, xenophobia and other forms of intolerance

      from the daily lives of its people, and a listing of those nation states —and examples of their  

      successes—that have made progress for lessons learnt and replication.

11. In line with #6-9, we fully support the strong recommendation to the UN HRC Regional Human

      Rights bodies, and UNGA, to support African and African descendant NGOs and institutions in their

       efforts during the next five years in working to monitor and evaluate their Regions, States,

       Districts and Territories with respect to the current state of compliance with the DDPA.

12. Therefore, as a strong action item that we can do ourselves in our own states, districts and territories,  

        we request official support to utilize the attached Survey of Current Compliance. Such support will  

        provide the authorization and credibility required by Civil Society organizations and research

        institutions to proceed in the various  member states and regions to evaluate, investigate, research

        and collect accurate information to regularly update data collected by the 4-year Human Rights

        Evaluation teams that already visit some member states. The SURVEY will continue to provide a

        simple, straightforward and uniform method for NOGs gathering and reporting data. Based on the

        SURVEY results and other information, we request that the OHCHR and regional organizations

        publish a report of “The Most Egregious Current Examples of Racism, Intolerance and Xenophobia

        in World Countries, and The Most Inspiring Examples of Eradication of Racism, Intolerance and

        Xenophobia” so as to enhance the program of action against racism and intolerance, assist in

        identifying the areas of our focus, then act and fundamentally make a change. There are symbolic

        violence situations in different countries in the context of institutional racism. Whether Zwarte Piet

        is just a problem in the Netherlands because of the revival of stereotype of African (black) people or

        interlinked to similar historical cultural traditions, stereotypical language & racist situations in other  

        parts of Europe and the world can then be understood by comparing all of the data in one place. A

        collective and integrated effort by the UN and regional organizations working with CSOs and  

        member states make a viable strategy in realizing the objective of DDPA within the next decade of  

        this Century.

13. We fully support the permanent recommendation to establish a UN “Permanent Forum for the  

       Africans and Peoples of African Descent,” similar to the Forum which has already been established

       for “Indigenous People.”

14. We strongly recommend the creation of an UNGA High Level Panel on the issue of “Reparations” for

       Repairing of the Damage & the correction of the Historical wrongs done to Africans globally. This

       includes the issuing of formal apologies as a means of achieving healings & reconciliation in

       societies and the addressing the impact of the injustices. This as one of the consequences

       of the Declaration of the Trans-Atlantic Slave trade, Slavery & Colonialism as a

       crime against humanity.

15. For the Preparation of the High Level Panel we recommend the establishing of a special “UN

      Commission of Experts” on “Reparations.”

16. And finally, we fully support the recommendation that the next major

      Durban Review of the DDPA should convene within five years to be exactly in

      2016.

Submitted by: Barryl Biekman, AUADS-Europe/PADU

For more information Contact:  www.paduinternational.com

www.tiye-international.org

or Barryl A. Biekman E at info@platformslavernijmonument.nl