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CITIES SUPPORT THE UN PERMANENT FORUM ON PEOPLE OF AFRICAN DESCENT

Webinar recordings-Background on PFPAD

From December 4-9 2022 the United Nations launched the first meeting of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent, a new body charged with guiding the UN in work to end racial discrimination and systemic racism and to develop concrete steps and action plans to improve the well being of all people of the African diaspora. Delegate Justin Hansford sees the Forum as a potential "instrument of liberation" that will require continued struggle by grassroots communities to push forward needed changes. Our Human Rights Cities Alliance is committed to working to support local actions that reinforce the Forum's work and engage cities and municipal officials in its transformative agenda.

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  • Slideshow: International Civil Society and the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent - An introduction to the Permanent Forum and how human rights advocates in civil society can engage with it. (ICSWG/PFPAD)

  • The African Diaspora Convenes on the World Stage & Calls for Reparatory Justice (Webinar recording) - Report-back webinar on the Inaugural session of the UN Permanent Forum on People of African Descent. Advocates who attended PFPAD will share their observations and offer ideas for how this new body can be a tool for building local and national movements to end white supremacy and advance racial justice. Panelists: Lisa Borden, Senior Policy Counsel, International Advocacy and Policy, Southern Poverty Law Center; Charkera Ervin, Howard University School of Law/ Movement Lawyering Clinic; Efia Nwangaza, SNCC Veteran, Civil/Human Rights Attorney, Director Malcolm X Center for Self Determination; Tiffany Williams Roberts, Director of Public Policy Unit, Southern Center for Human Rights; Gretchen Rohr, US-Liaison and Global Strategic Litigation Officer, Open Society Justice Initiative. Co-sponsors: U.S. Human Rights Cities Alliance, Southern Center for Human Rights, Southern Poverty Law Center, Ubuntu Institute for Community Development, Pittsburgh Human Rights City Alliance, Global Studies Center & the Center for African Studies, University of Pittsburgh

  • Using the Human Rights Framework for Racial Justice: A Conversation with Justin Hansford (Recording) - After Michael Brown’s murder in Ferguson, Missouri, Justin Hansford helped Brown family members bring their appeal for justice to the United Nations See Ferguson to Geneva. This conversation brings together Black community leaders, advocates, and educators to discuss this effort and understand how global human rights law can be a tool for social transformation. Justin Hansford is Professor of Law at Howard University, Executive Director of the Thurgood Marshall Civil Rights Center, and representative to the new United Nations Permanent Forum of People of African Descent (UNPFPAD). Professor Hansford’s visit to Pittsburgh was part of a “listening tour” he made in preparation for the inaugural meeting of the UNPFPAD in early December.Panelists: Dr. Rashad Williams, University of Pittsburgh (Host), Tiffany Williams Roberts, Director of Public Policy Unit, Southern Center for Human Rights (Atlanta) & Steering Committee member, U.S. Human Rights Cities Alliance; Randall Taylor, Penn Plaza Support and Action Coalition

 

 

Official Websites and Documents

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Live recordings of Permanent Forum on People of African Descent (PFPAD) inaugural meeting can be found at the following links:

1st Meeting -Dec. 5

2nd Meeting-Dec. 5

3rd Meeting- Dec. 6

4th Meeting Dec. 6

5th Meeting-Dec. 7

6th Meeting Dec. 7

7th Meeting Dec. 8

8th Meeting Dec. 8

Permanent Forum of People on African Descent Website

 

Background Documents and History of UN Advocacy for the African Diaspora

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