Objectives

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) refers to Human Rights Council resolution 47/21. Operative paragraph 15 requests the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to prepare a written report, on an annual basis, and to present it to the Human Rights Council. This call for inputs seeks to inform the preparation of the forthcoming report that will be presented to the fifty-fourth session of the Human Rights Council, and transmitted to the seventy-eighth session of the General Assembly.

Guiding elements for written submissions

In line with operative paragraph 14 of the aforementioned resolution, OHCHR would welcome information from States, as well as United Nations entities, inter-governmental and regional organizations, national human rights institutions, civil society and non-governmental organizations and all other relevant stakeholders, concerning:

• “systemic racism, violations of international human rights law against Africans and people of African descent by law enforcement agencies, to contribute to accountability and redress”; and
• “further action [taken] globally towards transformative change for racial justice and equality”.

In particular, OHCHR would welcome information about the participation of Africans and people of African descent in actions taken towards transformative change for racial justice and equality, notably regarding:

• the right to take part in the conduct of public affairs, including through direct participation;
• specific initiatives/processes being undertaken at the local, national and/or regional level in relation to the four points of the Agenda towards transformative change for racial justice and equality, namely:
  • Reversing cultures of denial, dismantling systemic racism and accelerating the pace of action (e.g. participation in the design, implementation and evaluation of laws, policies, programmes and processes, such as: national action plans against racism; national censuses; collection of data disaggregated by race or ethnic origin).
  • Ending impunity for human rights violations by law enforcement officials and closing trust deficits (e.g. participation in accountability processes associated with an individual case as well as in broader accountability and redress measures and processes to reimagine and reform policing and the criminal justice system).
  • Ensuring that the voices of people of African descent and those who stand up against racism are heard and that their concerns are acted upon (e.g. special measures and other steps to ensure a safe environment that enables the right to participate and eliminates obstacles to its effective implementation, including through representation of people of African descent and access to information).
  • Confronting legacies, including through accountability and redress (e.g. participation in the design, implementation and evaluation of truth-seeking initiatives; acknowledgement and apologies; memorialization processes; and other reparations measures more broadly).
• the right to participate in elections - to vote and to stand for election;
• the right to have access to public service;
• the right to equal participation in cultural activities;
• measures to ensure equal and effective access to justice and effective remedies for violations of the right to participate in public affairs.

OHCHR would welcome information concerning laws, regulations, policies and all other relevant measures, as well as promising practices, initiatives, challenges and lessons learned, notably in relation to the areas specified above. Information regarding the perspectives of women, youth and children of African descent, and of African women, youth and children, as well as other relevant gender dimensions and intersectional analyses, are also invited.

See the call for inputs in English, Français, Español and Portuguese.