Sunday, August 1, 2021

We need the Biden Harris Administration to vote for a United Nations Permanent Forum on People of African Descent tomorrow August 2nd 2021 at 10AM in the UN General Assembly !!!

In his Juneteenth message, President Biden stated“Juneteenth is a day of profound weight and power. A day in which we remember the moral stain and terrible toll of slavery on our country –- what I’ve long called America’s original sin. A long legacy of systemic racism, inequality, and inhumanity."

In spite of those remarks, it seems the Biden Harris Administration has opted to continue that legacy by delaying a crucial vote to establish a United Nations Permanent Forum on People of African Descent this past Thursday July 29th. This Permanent Forum would represent over 1.6 billion people of African Descent around the world, including 30m plus voters in the USA - voters for whom President Biden credits his 2020 victory

The vote was an opportunity for the Biden Harris Administration to heal, hope, and emerge from our darkest moments with purpose and show resolve that a future for African Americans is part of an unprecedented American revival as envisioned by Presidential Executive Order 13985, issued on day 1 of the Biden Harris Presidency.

Executive Order 13985, officially titled Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government, is the first executive order signed by U.S. President Joe Biden on January 20, 2021. It purports to advance racial equity and support for underserved communities through the federal government. We ask how can that be true with the actions of the US Mission to the UN last thursday?

Until those actions we drew on what the President said on the 100th Anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre, "great nations don’t ignore the most painful chapters of their past. Great nations confront them. We come to terms with them." Despite these words, the actions of the US Mission to the United Nations do not measure up.

A Permanent Forum on People of African Descent (#PfPAD) is the most appropriate and vital mechanism with which to bring coherence to a host of instruments that have been tried and tested through the United Nations, and sometimes, through other international arrangements. Structural and systemic anti-Black racism manifests in the climate crisis, global public health crisis, state violence, economic inequality, and various other markers of human life. Not only is it time to create intergovernmental and civil society coherence to address the broad swath of issues affecting people of African descent—it is the best way for the United Nations to ensure that it is indeed a relevant international body, current and willing to address issues that have reached a breaking point.

We know that the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union wield outsized power in the General Assembly. That is why it is even more troubling that a crucial vote to advance the Permanent Forum has been delayed, jeopardizing the strength of the Forum. We need these countries to live up to their rhetoric on racial justice and show the world that they are ready to commit in word and in deed.

We need United States United Nations Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield to speak boldly about the US’s commitment to advancing the interests of Black people. On July 13th 2021 Antony J. Blinken, U.S. Secretary of State issued a press statement entitled, "U.S. Leadership on Human Rights and Ending Systemic Racism." It said, "This Administration is deeply dedicated to addressing racial injustice and inequities at home and abroad. On the global stage, the United States is leading by example." Was the actions last Thursday an example of the leadership we can expect from a Biden Harris Administration?

We need the Congressional Black Caucus to be vocal in its support for Black people not only domestically but from around the world. The CBC is at its strongest position ever with 6 House Chairmanships including Foriegn Affairs, Agriculture, Homeland Security and Finance. We need our elected leadership from the House to the Senate, lifting their voices in support of the Permanent Forum, without delay. We need the 191 cosponsors in the house to H.R. 40, the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans Act to stand with us.

The last four years we’ve watched as the US has receded from international influence. This is a prime opportunity to assert that the US is willing to lead the charge for human rights, justice and a mechanism in the UN to further economic empowerment of People of African Descent.

Sign the petition to let the Biden Harris Administration and Congress know you support a Permanent Forum on People of African Descent in the United Nations.