Summary

The present document contains the report of the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent on its thirty-first and thirty-second sessions, prepared pursuant to Human Rights Council resolutions 9/14, 18/28, 27/25, 36/23 and 45/24.

During its thirty-first session, held in Geneva from 28 November to 2 December 2022, the Working Group held private discussions. At its thirty-second session, held in Geneva from 1 to 5 May 2023, the Working Group focused on the theme “Economic empowerment of people of African descent”. The Working Group also held a special event on 4 May 2023 entitled “Durban memoirs by the legends of Durban”.

The Working Group has concluded that racial inequality and racial discrimination in multiple and diverse forms fuel poverty, economic inequality and violations of the inalienable human rights of people of African descent across the globe. The Working Group makes several recommendations to address these concerns, key among these is the provision of appropriate resources for the implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, a call for a second decade for people of African descent and commitment for the finalization of the declaration on the rights of people of African descent