129
Chapter I
AFRO-DESCENDANTS:RIGHTSANDCOMBATINGRACIALDISCRIMINATION
Latin America has a sizable population of African descent, estimated in 2010 at more than 120 million
persons. That population exhibits a high degree of demographic and sociopolitical heterogeneity between
and even within countries of the region. In addition to their shared origins, culture and identity, Afro-
descendent persons face a series of social problems, which have been characterized by slavery,
colonization, discrimination and exclusion, as was recognized at the Third World Conference against
Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance sponsored by the United Nations in
Durban, SouthAfrica, in 2001. Although the information is fragmentary, the inequalities observed, to the
disadvantage of Afro-descendent populations, in indicators of living conditions constitute an expression
of discrimination and structural racism that affect them, as does the lack of visibility of these persons in
policies and programmes.
The United Nations General Assembly has proclaimed the years 2015-2024 as the International
Decade for People of African Descent, citing the need to strengthen national, regional and international
cooperation so as to engender the full enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights as well as civil
and political rights for persons of African descent, and their full and equal participation in all aspects of
society. Hence the importance of their inclusion in the Montevideo Consensus on Population and
Development. Although the Cairo Programme of Action did not explicitly include the situation of Afro-
descendants, the regional five-year reviews of the Programme ofAction have increasingly done so.
This chapter contains a seven prioritymeasures. PM 92 calls for respecting and implementing the
provisions of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, which covers all the dimensions of
political, civil, economic, social and cultural rights of Afro-descendent persons. PM 93, on addressing
ethnic and racial inequalities in conjunction with other factors, entails a broad range of actions, and
consequently this guide will deal with the more specific ones under prioritymeasures 94, 95, 96, 97 and
98. It is also important that the remaining priority measures operationalized in this guide should be
viewed in light of the particular situation ofAfro-descendants.
In addition to the specific mechanisms for follow-up and implementation of the rights of Afro-
descendants, actionmust be articulatedwith other forums and counterpart bodies such asUNFPA, PAHO
and UNICEF. PA 98 on generating knowledge and up-to-date disaggregated information is essential for
the design and application of policies relating to population and development and to persons of African
descent, as well as for promoting and monitoring the implementation of rights. In this respect, joint
follow-upwithSCA-ECLAC and the agencies of theUnitedNations system is urgent.
