PRESS RELEASE
BRAZILIAN GOVERNMENT DONATES SPECIAL FUNDS
TO
SPECIAL RAPPORTEURSHIP ON THE RIGHTS OF
PERSONS OF AFRICAN DESCENT, AND AGAINST RACIAL DISCRIMINATION
N°
4/05
The Inter-American Commission on Human
Rights (IACHR) received a very generous donation from the Government of
Brazil, destined to fund the activities of the recently created Special
Rapporteurship on the rights of persons of African descent and against
racial discrimination.
At a ceremony earlier this week, the
donation was presented by Mr. Douglas Martins, Brazil’s Assistant
Secretary for the Special Secretariat for Racial Equality Promotion
Policies. In a brief message he delivered at the occasion, Mr. Martins
said that the donation reflected the commitment of the Brazilian
Government to the promotion of racial equality in the region.
The IACHR was represented by Commissioner
Clare K. Roberts, President of the IACHR and recently appointed Special
Rapporteur on the rights of persons of African descent and against
racial discrimination, as well as Commissioner José Zalaquett,
Rapporteur for Brazil, and Santiago A. Canton, Executive Secretary of
the Commission.
In his message, Commissioner Roberts
expressed, among other things:
The afro-descendants in the Americas have
historically suffered from racism and racial discrimination. Over the
past decades, the invisibility of this population along with the lack of
information led to a number of initiatives from non-governmental
organizations, academics and international bodies to document the
existence of the afro-descendants and the causes and consequences of
their exclusion.
The theme of elimination of discrimination
and promotion of the full equality are fundamental in the Inter-American
Commission. Through its experience in individual cases, in situ visits
to countries, it has been shown conclusively that in the countries where
an unequal distribution of wealth persists, the afro-descendants are the
most affected group. This rapporteurship has its work cut out for it
but with the continued support of Brazil and other member States of the
OAS, the NGO’s and international bodies, we will succeed.
The Commission is extremely grateful to
the Brazilian government not only for this contribution but also for its
leadership in bringing the political discussion of this matter to the
OAS and promoting concrete initiatives.
The complete text of the
speech of the Special
Rapporteur is available at the Inter-American Commission’s website:
www.cidh.org.
Washington, D.C., March 2, 2005
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