Newsletter - January 2010
Upcoming Events
On 22 January 2010, the first Expert Workshop on
People of African Descent in the Americas will
take place at the offices of the OAS Department of
International Law. The purpose of the event is to
produce a technical-legal document that can
subsequently be used as a reference by
representatives of African-descent organizations, the
political organs of the Inter-American System
(including the Working Group created within the OAS
to draft an Inter-American Convention Against Racism
and All Forms of Discrimination and Intolerance), and
other interested stakeholders.
This workshop is held as part of the project to
incorporate the matter of indigenous and
African-descent populations in the policies and
programs of the OAS, which is being implemented by
the Department of International Law and includes
several other activities scheduled to take place in
the coming months.
Recognized experts from different countries of the
region will participate in the workshop including
professor Robert Cottrol (George Washington
University) and professor Pastor Murillo (member of
the Committee for the Elimination of Racial
Discrimination, Colombia). Topics to be addressed
include civil responsibility for acts of racial
discrimination, affirmative action, hate speech, and
others.
People of African descent are among the most
vulnerable social groups in the Hemisphere. Both the
OAS and the Summits of the Americas Process have
repeatedly expressed their concern with regard to
inclusion, respect for human rights, and attention to
the needs of these groups. For this reason, the
Department of International Law is currently working
in this area to increase democratic governance in the
Hemisphere by including these vulnerable groups, with
increased awareness regarding their rights and basic
needs.
Back to the Newsletter Home Page »
|