Excellencies, Honorable Ministers,
Mr. Guillermo Ponce, President, Afro-Hispanics, Secretary-General, AFROMADRID
Mr. Simon Nong, President, África Activa, Executive Secretary, AFROMADRID
Ms. Yolanda Atance, Secretary, Afro-Hispanics Coordinator, AFROMADRID 2015 and 2025
Esteemed Members of Civil Society, Community Leaders, and Distinguished Guests,

It is with gratitude and a sense of shared purpose that I direct this message to you today representing the Citizens and Diaspora Organizations Directorate of the African Union Commission—commonly known as AUC-CIDO—at this official launch of the II AFROMADRID World Conference 2025.

Let me begin by thanking the Government of Spain, the Ministry of Equality, and all the institutions and community actors who have worked to make this space possible. Dedication to equality, racial justice, and the empowerment of Afro-descendant communities deserve our recognition.

This Conference should be more than ceremonial—it should be a call to action in line with the African Union Theme of the Year “Justice for Africans and Peoples of African Descent through Reparations”.

AFROMADRID 2025 is an opportunity in uniting governments, institutions, and Afro-descendant communities under a common banner. This second edition deepens that commitment—bringing it to life through action, inclusion, and vision.

Today, we are reminded that the legacy of the African continent is global, and that the people of African descent are central to our global story.

As the African Union, we recognize the African diaspora as the sixth region of the continent—together with our five geographic regions—and vital to our political, cultural, and economic future.

Distinguished guests,

The alignment between the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development could not be clearer. Both agendas speak to inclusion, justice, dignity, and the need to “leave no one behind.”

Yet, we know from the lived experiences of Afro-descendant communities that too often they remain at the margins—margins of representation, of opportunity, of history. AFROMADRID 2025 is an opportunity to reverse that trend. It provides an important forum to center the voices, aspirations, and leadership of Afro-descendant peoples in shaping public policy, cultural narratives, and international cooperation.

Distinguished guests,
We must confront uncomfortable truths in education systems, healthcare access, employment markets, digital technologies, and law enforcement institutions.

At the recent UN Permanent Forum on People of African Descent, held in New York this April, global leaders—including many from the African Union and its Member States—called for reparatory justice, institutional transformation, and new technologies free from racial bias.

These calls are necessary. And they are overdue.

We at AUC-CIDO support efforts to build transatlantic bridges that link the African continent with its diaspora through shared policy priorities, cultural diplomacy.

Distinguished guests,

This conference should be a platform for strategic planning and implementation. AUC-CIDO is committed to strengthening the global framework for diaspora engagement, including:
• Supporting youth and women of African descent in leadership and entrepreneurship.
• Promoting the preservation and recognition of Afro-descendant heritage.
• Collaborating with host countries to enhance legal protections and anti-discrimination measures.
• Advancing the vision of the AU Diaspora Engagement Framework and the Global African Diaspora Summit outcomes.

Distinguished guests,

The African Union believes that the full inclusion of Afro-descendant communities—socially, economically, politically—is not only a matter of justice, it is a matter of global progress.

Today, I reaffirm our commitment to work in partnership with the African diaspora, and international organizations to move this agenda forward.

May this conference be remembered not only for its discussions, but for the partnerships
it forges, the policies it shapes, and the dignity it restores.

Thank you for your attention, and for your tireless dedication to building a more equitable world.

Gracias. Asante. Shukran.Thank you.