From April 20 to 23, Washington, D.C., was held a week of activities under the theme "Decade of Afro-Descendants in the Americas: Opportunities and Challenges,” organized by the Inter-American Development Bank, the Pan American Health Organization, the World Bank, the Permanent Mission of Colombia to the OAS, and the OAS Department of International Law.
The purpose of the activities
was to kick off the Decade of Afro-Descendants
in the inter-American system and multilateral
organizations based in Washington, D.C., as well
as to highlight the major contributions made by
people of African descent and propose concrete
actions with the aim of promoting their full
inclusion in social, political, economic, and
cultural life in their societies.
The launch of the Decade for
People of African Descent was celebrated on
April 21, 2015, at the headquarters of the
Inter-American Development Bank (IADB). It was
organized by the Inter-American Development
Bank, the Permanent Mission of Colombia to the
OAS, and the Department of International Law.
The event included
presentations by the Ambassador of Colombia to
the Organization of American States, Ambassador
Andrés González Díaz; the Senior Advisor for the
Gender and Diversity Division, at the
Inter-American Development Bank, Mrs. Judith
Morrison; the Independent Expert of the United
Nations Committee for the Elimination of Racial
Discrimination (CERD), Mr. Pastor Murillo
Martínez; the Vice-Minister for Participation
and Equal Rights of the Ministry of Interior of
Colombia, Ms. Carmen Inés Vásquez; the
Commissioner of the Presidency of the Republic
for Matters Related to the Afro-Costa Rican
Community, Mr. Quince Duncan; the Director of
the Ethnic-Racial Unit of the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs of Uruguay, Itinerant Ambassador
Romero Rodríguez; the Executive Secretary of the
Black Ethnicity of Panama, Ms. Haydee Milanés;
the Director of the Race, Ethnicity, and Social
Inclusion Unit, Office of Western Hemisphere
Affairs, Department of State, Ms. Zakiya
Carr-Johnson; and the Department of
International Law.
The Special Session of the
Permanent Council of the OAS was held on April
22, 2015, at the headquarters of the
Organization of American States (OAS). It was
coordinated by the Permanent Mission of Colombia
to the OAS and was supported by the Department
of International Law.
The objective of the special
session was to officially inaugurate the Decade
at the OAS and to discuss the possibility of a
Program of Action for Persons of African Descent
in the Americas.
The launch included the
presentations by the Interim Representative of
Antigua and Barbuda to the OAS, Ms. Joy Dee
Davis-Lake; the Deputy Assistant to the
President in the Office of Urban Affairs,
Justice and Opportunity of the White House, Mr.
Roy L. Austin Jr., the International Adviser of
the Secretary for Policies to Promote Racial
Equality of Brazil, Mrs. Magali Naves; the Vice
Minister for Participation and Equality of
Rights of the Ministry of Interior of Colombia,
Ms. Carmen Inés Vásquez; the Commissioner of the
Presidency of the Republic for Matters Related
to the Afro-Costa Rican Community, the Executive
Secretary for the Black Ethnicity of Panama,
Mrs. Haydee Milanés; Mr. Quince Duncan; and the
Director of the Ethnic-Racial Unit of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uruguay,
Itinerant Ambassador Romero Rodríguez.
The Department of
International Law has been working on issues
concerning people of African descent since 2008,
holding different types of activities to draw
attention to Afro-descendants in the context of
the inter-American system and enable them to
participate more effectively in its work.
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Opening remarks by the Department of International Law (Dr. Roberto Rojas Davila)
