As a prelude to the 4th Session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on People of African Descent (UN PFPAD), which will hold from Monday, April 14 to Thursday, April 17, 2025, the International Civil Society Working Group (ICSWG) on Wednesday, April 2, 2025, organized a successful virtual Town Hall with some PFPAD members in attendance.
The Pre-PFPAD Prep Town Hall, which was addressed by the incumbent Chairperson of the Forum, Dr. June Soomer, was put together by ICSWG, whose Chairwoman is Dr. Amara Enyia. The objective of the meeting was to provide information about the 4th session of the Permanent Forum and solicit views of civil society members ahead of the session.
Dr. Soomer started off by stressing the crucial role of the Civil Society in the work of the Permanent Forum and reminding all of the theme of this year’s Session, “Africa and People of African Descent: United for Reparatory Justice in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.” She also restated the major themes to be discussed by the four Panels of the session.
The panels will be on Reparatory Justice for Africa and People of African Descent, Human Rights of Women and Girls of African Descent, Policymaking and Systemic Racism: A Human Rights-based Approach, and Artificial Intelligence and Digital Justice for People of African Descent. There will also be as many as 30 side events and a special focus on the situation in Haiti.
While assuring that the Permanent Forum and People of African Descent generally are moving ahead towards actualization of set goals, Dr. Soomer stressed that “we are not going to be stopped,” and urged the Civil Society to participate actively in this 4th Session, while pledging that engagement with the Civil Society will continue.
She admitted that there are concerns with respective to travel plans, immigration and security issues, but charged that “we have to hold each others’ hands going forward, to ensure we are all safe.”
Soomer, a Saint Lucia-born Historian, also used the platform to announce that Kenya’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, Ambassador Martin Kimani, would be taking over from her as Chairperson, that Gaynel Curry from The Bahamas would become Kimani’s Deputy while Pastor Elías Murillo Martínez from Colombia would step in as Rapporteur.
Dr. Amara gave very valuable updates concerning the upcoming 4th Session, especially on security and safe travels for those coming into the United States. She also noted that ICSWG members had been working hard towards making the Session a success and urged those who had not already joined the Group to become members of the ICSWG.
The UN General Assembly had, in a resolution on November 18, 2014 entitled “Programme of activities for the implementation of the International Decade for People of African Descent,” decided to establish the Forum, and on August 2, 2021, the General Assembly adopted its resolution 75/314 which formally operationalized the Permanent Forum as “a consultative mechanism for people of African descent and other relevant stakeholders, a platform for improving the safety and quality of life and livelihoods of people of African descent, as well as an advisory body to the Human Rights Council, in line with the programme of activities for the implementation of the International Decade for People of African Descent and in close coordination with existing mechanisms.”
The first session of the Permanent Forum was then held from December 5 to 8, 2022, in Geneva.
Those participating in the discussions at the Forum will be stakeholders who advance the rights of people of African descent, as well as Member States, United Nations specialized agencies and bodies, national human rights institutions, equality bodies, civil society representatives, and organizations of people of African descent.
The proceedings of the 4th session will be broadcasted in real-time with interpretation via UN Web TV.
