In resolution A/RES/76/226 of December 2021, the General Assembly invited the Permanent Forum of People of African Descent (Permanent Forum) to contribute to the elaboration of a draft United Nations Declaration on the promotion and full respect of the human rights of people of African descent. According to the Forum’s mandate, outlined in A/RES75/314, the Permanent Forum is to act as “a consultative mechanism for people of African descent and other relevant stakeholders as a platform for improving the safety and quality of life and livelihoods of people of African descent”.

The Permanent Forum is now gathering viewpoints in advance of the elaboration of the draft United Nations Declaration on the promotion and full respect of the human rights of people of African descent. To facilitate initial discussions on the draft Declaration, the Permanent Forum will share its views on the scope of the Declaration with the Intergovernmental Working Group on the Effective Implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action during the 20^th session of the Intergovernmental Working Group, which will take place from 10 to 21 October 2022 in Geneva.

The Permanent Forum invites civil society actors, non-governmental organizations, academics and experts working on issues related to people of African descent to submit written statements on the potential scope and content of the draft Declaration.

Written statements should be sent in Word format to pfpad@un.org by 22 August 2022. Unless otherwise specified, all written statements will be made available in full and as received on the public OHCHR website. The Permanent Forum looks forward to receiving your contributions.