Afro-descendants: rights and combating racial discrimination
Region countries have Instruments on Afro-Descendants
Policies and instruments
Latin America has a sizeable population of African descent, estimated in 2010 at more than 120 million. That population exhibits a high degree of demographic and sociopolitical heterogeneity between and even within countries of the region. In addition to their shared origins, culture and identity, persons of African descent face a series of social problems, which have been characterized by historical situations of slavery, colonization, discrimination and exclusion, as was recognized at the Third World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, convened by the United Nations in Durban, South Africa, in 2001. Although the information is fragmentary, the inequalities observed in indicators of living conditions, to the disadvantage of Afro-descendent populations, constitute an expression of discrimination and structural racism, as does the lack of visibility of these persons in policies and programmes.
The United Nations General Assembly has proclaimed the years 2015-2024 as the International Decade for People of African Descent, citing the need to strengthen national, regional and international cooperation so as to engender the full enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights as well as civil and political rights for persons of African descent, and their full and equal participation in all aspects of society. Hence the importance of their inclusion in the Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development. Although the Cairo Programme of Action did not explicitly include the situation of Afro descendants, the regional five-year reviews of the Programme of Action have increasingly done so.
This chapter contains seven priority measures. Priority measure 92 calls for respecting and implementing the provisions of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, which covers all the dimensions of political, civil, economic, social and cultural rights of Afro-descendent persons. Priority measure 93, on addressing ethnic and racial inequalities in conjunction with other factors, entails a broad range of actions, and consequently this guide will deal with the more specific ones under priority measures 94, 95, 96, 97 and 98. It is also important that the remaining priority measures operationalized in this guide should be viewed in light of the particular situation of persons of African descent.
Priority Measures
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Respect for and implementation of the Durban Declaration and Program of Action with the full participation of people of African descent
Respect and implement the provisions of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action adopted at the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, by adapting the legal frameworks and formulating the policies necessary for their implementation, with the full participation of Afro-descendent persons. -
Treatment of inequalities with and their presence in situations of discrimination in women and young people of African descent
Address gender, racial, ethnic and intergenerational inequalities, bearing in mind the way these dimensions overlap in situations of discrimination affecting women, especially young Afro-descendent women. -
Demographic and sociocultural dynamics in Afro-descendant populations
Consider the special demographic and sociocultural dynamics of Afro-descendent populations in the design and implementation of public policies, ensuring their full participation and the development of disaggregated statistics. -
Right to health in Afro-descendant people
Ensure that Afro-descendent persons, in particular Afro-descendent girls, adolescents and women, can exercise the right to health, especially the right to sexual health and reproductive health, taking into account the specific socioterritorial and cultural features and the structural factors, such as racism, that hinder the exercise of their rights. -
Promotion of development in Afro-descendant populations
Promote the development of Afro-descendent populations by implementing public policies, establishing standards and creating institutions to guide and carry forward affirmative action policies, plans and programmes at the sectoral level, whereby the principles of equality and non-discrimination can be incorporated into all levels of government, with organized civil society participating throughout the process of design, implementation and evaluation of those instruments. -
Afro-descendant women and living conditions
Ensure that policies and programmes are in place to raise the living standards of Afro-descendent women, by fully enforcing their rights, in particular their sexual rights and reproductive rights. -
Generation of knowledge and information on Afro-descendant populations
Generate knowledge and reliable and timely information with a gender perspective and disaggregated by sex, age and socioeconomic status, among other variables, on Afro-descendent populations through participatory processes, paying attention to the international requirements and recommendations relating to the issue.
Indicators
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Existence of a State policy, plan or strategy that includes the provisions of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action.
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Existence of a national mechanism governing racial equality policies.
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Percentage of the public budget earmarked/executed for actions aimed at guaranteeing the rights of the Afrodescendent population, by sector, and percentage allocated to a governing institution on Afrodescendent affairs.
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Existence of intercultural sexual and reproductive health services, including preventive measures and culturally and linguistically relevant information.
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Percentage of relevant data sources that include self-identification of Afrodescendants, such as censuses, surveys and administrative records in the different sectors.
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Existence of mechanisms that guarantee Afrodescendants’ full participation in the production of official statistics.
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Number and percentage of Afrodescendent experts (male and female) working on information production and analysis in government offices.
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Proportion of seats held by Afrodescendent people in national parliaments and local governments.