Advancing Equity and Social Justice for People of African Descent
Click on one section to learn more about it
Click on one section to learn more about it
UNFPA priorities for people of African descent
Learn more about UNFPA’s efforts to advance rights and development for people of African descent:
- Read the UNFPA report Gender-based violence against Afrodescendent women in Latin America
- Read the UNFPA report In our words: Voices of women of African descent for reproductive and climate Justice
- Read the UNFPA report Maternal health of women and girls of African descent in the Americas
- Read the UNFPA report The price of inequality: Socioeconomic consequences of adolescent pregnancy and early motherhood in Latin America and the Caribbean
- Read the UNFPA brochure Ensuring quality maternal health for women and girls of African descent
- Read the UNFPA Panama story Adolescent pregnancy and reproductive freedom on the Central American Caribbean Coast
- Read the UNFPA Panama story Adolescent pregnancy costs Latin America and the Caribbean US$15.3 billion a year and deepens inequality
Learn more about the inspiring initiatives under the leadership of UNFPA:
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Global: The Global Coalition for the Reproductive Health and Rights of Women and Girls of African Descent is a pioneering platform uniting stakeholders to address structural inequities in maternal health for women and girls of African descent.
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Central America: The Leave No One Behind initiative expands access to education and services, empowering girls of African descent to delay pregnancy and achieve their aspirations.
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Colombia: The Partera Vital initiative supports Afrodescendant midwives who combine ancestral knowledge with modern care to save mothers and newborns while securing legal identity at birth.
Costa Rica: The Global Symposium for Bridging the Gap in Sexual and Reproductive Health of Afrodescendant Women and Adolescents convened partners for dialogue and joint action to reduce maternal mortality and adolescent pregnancy in Afrodescendant communities.
International frameworks and tools
Learn more about the UN actions, bodies and mechanisms that are committed to advancing equity and social justice for people of African descent:
- First International Decade for People of African Descent (2015–2024): Declared by the UN General Assembly under the theme “Recognition, Justice and Development,” the decade strengthened global awareness of the rights and contributions of more than 200 million people of African descent in the Americas, while highlighting the persistent inequities they continue to face.
- Second International Decade for People of African Descent (2025–2034): Proclaimed by the UN General Assembly on 17 December 2024, this decade represents a renewed global commitment to take concrete actions to confront the enduring legacies of enslavement and colonialism, deliver reparatory justice and secure the full human rights and freedoms of people of African descent worldwide.
- UNESCO’s Slave Route Project: This project aims to contribute to a better understanding of the causes and consequences of slavery, to highlight the global transformations that have resulted from this history and to promote a culture of peace by reflecting on inclusion, cultural pluralism, intercultural dialogue and the construction of new identities and citizenships.
- Ark of Return: The Permanent Memorial to Honour the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, located in the UN Visitors Plaza in New York, continues to stand as a reminder that the legacies of slavery, including racism and inequality, still affect us all.
- Durban Declaration and Programme of Action: This initiative, an outcome of the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance in 2001, serves as the UN blueprint to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance globally, embodying the firm commitment of the international community.
- Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development: Established at the first session of the Regional Conference on Population and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2013, this instrument constitutes the roadmap for the integration of population dynamics and sustainable development with equality and rights-based approaches.
- Permanent Forum on People of African Descent: Formally adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2021, this initiative is a consultative mechanism for people of African descent and other relevant stakeholders, serving as a platform for improving the safety and quality of life and livelihoods of people of African descent, as well as an advisory body to the Human Rights Council.
#FightRacism: A campaign launched by the UN Human Rights Office to fight racism invites each and every one of us to speak out and stand up against racial prejudice, discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance.
People of African descent international days
- International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, 21 March
- International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, 25 March
- International Day for Countering Hate Speech, 18 June
- International Day of Women and Girls of African Descent, 25 July
- International Day for People of African Descent, 31 August
- International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, 2 December
Updated 4 December 2025