(5th meeting) 2nd Session of the Permanent Forum…

• Item 5: Thematic Discussion (continued): Recognizing and addressing systemic and structural racism: A data-driven and evidence-based approach

Part of the mandate of Permanent Forum is to "support the coordination of programs aimed at the socioeconomic development of communities and people of African descent" and to "enable the systematic design and collection of and access to high-quality, reliable and timely disaggregated data and gender statistics, conducive to the better execution of public policies in relation to people of African descent." Members of the Permanent Forum (at the 1st session of Permanent Forum) "affirmed the urgent need for Member States to collect disaggregated data on people of African descent based on race, sex, gender, age, geographic (rural/urban) location, employment, economic status; to identify, monitor, and track disparities and hold themselves accountable for the human rights situation of people of African descent as well as for measurable Sustainable Development Goals, racial justice indicators and policy targets, and reviewing the effectiveness and impacts of policies and laws." Also, among the recommendations of the 1st Session, is a focus on the "development of official United Nations Guidelines and a Handbook for a comprehensive human rights-based and data-driven approach to recognising and addressing systemic and structural racism against people of African descent". This thematic panel will elaborate on the need and possible recommendations, projects and other initiatives at the United Nations level for an evidence-based approach to recognizing and addressing systemic and structural racism as it affects people of African descent.

The Second Session of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent (PFPAD) will be part of a global consultative process with a focus on five thematic panels on global reparatory justice, Pan-Africanism, transnational migration, data-collection for recognising and addressing systemic and structural racism, and health, well-being and intergenerational trauma.