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During its 122nd period of sessions (February 23 – March 11, 2005), the Inter-American Commission created the
Rapporteurship on the Rights of Persons of African Descent and against
Racial Discrimination. The Office of the Rapporteur was charged with
dedicating itself to activities of stimulating, systematizing, reinforcing
and consolidating the action of the Inter-American Commission on the Rights
of Persons of African Descent and against Racial Discrimination.
The core objectives of the Office of the Rapporteur include working with OAS member States to generate awareness regarding States’ duty to respect the human rights of afro-descendants and on the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination, analyzing the current challenges that confront countries of the region in this area, formulating recommendations designed to overcome the obstacles, identifying and sharing best practices in the region with respect to this matter, and providing any technical assistance requested by member States in the implementation of the recommendations in national law and practice.
With civil society, the work is focused on amplifying awareness in the region of the guarantees and mechanisms the inter-American human rights system offers for the protection of the rights of Afro-descendants and against racial discrimination. Also, the Office of the Rapporteur maintains a data base on the most current information received through its informal hemispheric network related to the rights of people of African descent and racial discrimination in member States or progress in this matter; promotes the system through its participation in education and training activities as well as seminars and conferences, among others. Finally, the Rapporteurship works in collaboration with the pertinent United Nations bodies, including CERD and the Special Rapporteur on Racism and Contemporary Forms of Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance.