Call for the full implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action

On 1 October 2025, the  Working Group of Experts of People of African Descent (WGEPAD) presented their reports on reparatory justice to the Human Rights Council. The session was introduced by Bina D’Costa, Chair of the Working Group on People of African Descent.

The report, entitled ‘Principles, conditions and pathways for restorative justice for people of African descent,’ is the result of extensive consultations with civil society and States. It builds on the collective momentum to include the issue of reparative justice on the agenda of Member States, as this report is part of a series of reports recently published by sections of the United Nations anti-racist architecture on the subject, including the OHCHR report also presented at HRC60.

From the perspective of civil society, there are many important statements in the report. For example, the report states that there should be no statute of limitations on the pursuit of reparatory justice for the crimes of enslavement, the trade in enslaved persons, including the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans, and colonialism and that the cost of pursuing reparatory justice should be borne by the countries and their successors and the private entities that perpetrated enslavement and colonisation or benefited from them.  

In this context, ISHR and  Coalizão Negra por Direitos (CND) delivered a strong joint statement calling for the full implementation of the DDPA. The statement conveyed a message specifying racial discrimination against people of African descent in Brazil. It emphasised that racial hate speech, gender-based violence, racial discrimination and the ‘war on drugs’ had profound negative repercussions on the lives of Brazil’s Afro-descendant population. At the end of the statement, all States are urged to fully implement the DDPA.

Please watch the video HERE. You can also read the statement and watch the video below: 

Read the statement below: 

Human rights violations against Afrodescendants in Brazil remain a critical threat to our survival. 

The rising tide of racial hate speech from far-right representatives has left Brazil’s Black population extremely vulnerable 

Afrodescendant women and girls are the primary victims of gender-based violence, highlighting the intersection of racism and sexism. 

Racial profiling criminalises Black people, exposing them to violent interventions by public security forces. It drives arbitrary arrests and the killings of thousands—mostly Black youth and children—while the justice system ensures impunity through case dismissals. In fact, killings of Afrodescendants by law enforcement in Brazil are carried out in a systematic way suggesting a social cleansing process designed to exterminate sectors of society. 

The ‘war on drugs’ has us home to the world’s third-largest prison population. Young Black men aged 19 to 30 are the majority, enduring inhumane conditions, frequent torture, and denial of due process. 

Mr. President, in the context of the Second International Decade for People of African Descent, it is urgent that Member States fully implement the DDPA as well as dispense reparatory justice, grounded in the history and local context. 

Thank you.