Good morning to you all, and I wish you a happy Africa day of increased consciousness and unity.

Your excellencies,
distinguished delegates,
ladies and gentlemen,

It's an honor to join you online in my capacity as a chair of the United Nations Permanent Forum on People of African descent, and today, to celebrate Africa's enduring quest for historical truth, healing, and a better future for the continent and its diaspora.

This year's observance gains extra significance as we embrace the African Union's year of justice for Africans and people of African descent through reparations, the lasting legacy of enslavement and colonization burdens, Africa and its global descendants. In the 4 years since its creation the permanent forum continues to build bridges between the continent and its diaspora.

Acknowledgement is widespread. That systemic injustices born of the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans. Apartheid colonialism and genocide endure a parallel recognition calls for systemic change to secure equality, healing and to prevent future recurrence of these harms, yet acknowledgement too rarely evolves into tangible action.

Reparatory justice is a political and economic imperative in confronting structures that extract exclude and marginalize Africans and people of African descent, shaping their access to capital decision, making and opportunity.

Our vision of reparatory justice demands profound reforms that decolonize the international, political, economic, and ecological order.

Action must occur at every level, global, regional, national and local advancing gender, economic, climate and digital justice at the global level. The permanent Forum proposes a high-level political forum on reparations to forge a unified agenda and an international conference to frame the global development agenda after 2030, through an anti-racism.

Governments should also strengthen existing international human rights instruments, including the International Convention on the elimination of racial discrimination and the Durban Declaration and program of action.

…. new institutions are required. These are reparations, funds, task forces, and advisory groups dedicated to designing and implementing concrete measures. I invite African Union Member States to endorse these proposals and to pioneer the creation of the necessary institutions.

Regionally, collaboration among governments, the Au and the Caribbean community can drive structural transformation rooted in the priorities of African and diasporic communities, supported by firm commitments across institutions and states.

The Forum welcomes emerging union initiatives and urges the establishment of regional reparations, mechanisms, and funds.

Nationally, each African government must match the pursuit of reparations with internal reform, colonial era, political and institutional structures persist reinforcing identity, hierarchies and exploitative interventions. Africa must lead in this effort as the standard bearer for global movement grounded. In truth, this leadership entails a comprehensive reckoning with the legacies of enslavement and colonialism, including the worldwide identification of those who benefited from the enslavement and dispossession of African people, and the establishment of structured processes for legal material and institutional restitution.

Reform starts with acknowledging the psychological, cultural, and economic consequences of colonialism, and calls for the bold, transformative pan-africanist vision that fueled the independence era.

This work of reckoning cannot be done in isolation. The viability of national reforms depends on their alignment with continental integration. A State that serves its people must also engage effectively with its neighbors through trade, mobility, knowledge, and shared security. The Au's agenda offers structure, but its success rests on the political choices of individual governments.

Our relationship with the diaspora requires the same clarity. It is a political, cultural, and economic connection that shapes how we see ourselves and how we are seen, reparations involve more than restitution, they also concern recognition and inclusion. Our laws, institutions, and policies must create real pathways for descendants of Africa abroad to be part of the Continent's future.

Governments. Should commission comprehensive inquiries into the legacies of enslavement and colonialism within their borders, translate findings into policy and operational measures, and invest in institutions that serve the public good, guarantee equal opportunity and remain accountable to citizens.

In the 1st year of the Second International decade. For people of African descent, we celebrate progress already achieved. I commend African governments that have deepened engagement with the diaspora, facilitated ancestral visits and opened pathways for return and resettlement. The Africa we envision is within our reach. Thank you.