Title: Celebrating the goals and ideals of the first International Day for People of African Descent, particularly the principle that "all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and have the potential to contribute constructively to the development and well-being of their societies".
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
This resolution celebrates the first International Day for People of African Descent and expresses a commitment to a legislative agenda that eliminates persistent racial inequalities in the United States.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 615 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 615

  Celebrating the goals and ideals of the first International Day for 
People of African Descent, particularly the principle that ``all human 
   beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and have the 
  potential to contribute constructively to the development and well-
                      being of their societies''.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            August 31, 2021

Ms. Lee of California (for herself, Mr. Payne, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, 
Mr. Carson, Ms. Norton, Mr. Evans, Ms. Wilson of Florida, Ms. Williams 
  of Georgia, Mr. Danny K. Davis of Illinois, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, 
    Mrs. Watson Coleman, Ms. Bass, Mr. Rush, and Mr. David Scott of 
Georgia) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on the 
 Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the 
                jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Celebrating the goals and ideals of the first International Day for 
People of African Descent, particularly the principle that ``all human 
   beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and have the 
  potential to contribute constructively to the development and well-
                      being of their societies''.

Whereas the International Day for People of African Descent will be celebrated 
        for the first time on August 31, 2021;
Whereas the United Nations has created this observance via Resolution 75/170 in 
        an effort to ``promote the extraordinary contributions of the African 
        diaspora around the world and to eliminate all forms of discrimination 
        against people of African descent'';
Whereas the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 2015-2024 as the 
        International Decade for People of African Descent focused on the goals 
        of recognition, justice, and development;
Whereas worldwide, as many as 1.6 billion people identify themselves as part of 
        the worldwide African Diaspora, including as many as 200 million in the 
        Americas;
Whereas, as many as 67 percent of residents of the Caribbean are of African 
        descent;
Whereas, as many as 46.8 million people in the United States identify themselves 
        as Black or African American, and have continually made important 
        contributions to the political, economic, and sociocultural development 
        of our Nation;
Whereas W.E.B. Du Bois, famed American sociologist, activist, and co-founder of 
        the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, is 
        credited with defining the concept of the African Diaspora;
Whereas the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the intersectional and compounded forms of 
        racial discrimination, marginalization, and exclusion experienced by 
        people of African descent;
Whereas the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and other African Americans 
        in the United States catalyzed people around the world to protest racism 
        and prompted a global reckoning on racial justice;
Whereas, on June 19, 2020, the United Nations Human Rights Council adopted by 
        consensus Resolution 43/1 on the ``Promotion and protection of the human 
        rights and fundamental freedoms of Africans and people of African 
        descent against excessive use of force and other human rights violations 
        by law enforcement officers'';
Whereas pursuant to that resolution, United Nations High Commissioner for Human 
        Rights Michelle Bachelet released a report on systemic racism and police 
        brutality against Africans and people of African descent at the hands of 
        law enforcement around the world, which examined such cases in 62 
        countries including the United States;
Whereas that report acknowledges the ``stark socioeconomic and political 
        marginalization'' experienced by people of African descent in 
        communities around the world as a result of persistent racial 
        discrimination and structural inequalities;
Whereas the report establishes a four-point agenda toward transformative change 
        for racial justice and equality and calls on member states to--

    (1) reverse cultures of denial, dismantle systemic racism, and 
accelerate the pace of action;

    (2) end impunity for human rights violations by law enforcement 
officials and close trust deficits in this area;

    (3) ensure that the voices of people of African descent and those who 
stand up against racism are heard and that their concerns are acted upon; 
and

    (4) acknowledge and confront legacies, including through accountability 
and redress;

Whereas High Commissioner Bachelet stated on July 12, 2021, that there is ``an 
        urgent need to confront the legacies of enslavement, the transatlantic 
        slave trade, colonialism and successive racially discriminatory policies 
        and systems, and to seek reparatory justice'';
Whereas, on July 13, 2021, the Human Rights Council adopted consensus Resolution 
        47/21 ``Promotion and protection of the human rights and fundamental 
        freedoms of Africans and of people of African descent against excessive 
        use of force and other human rights violations by law enforcement 
        officers through transformative change for racial justice and 
        equality'', now informally known as the ``George Floyd Resolution'';
Whereas this resolution establishes an international independent expert 
        mechanism for an initial period of three years to investigate 
        governments' responses to peaceful antiracism protests and all 
        violations of international human rights law and to contribute to 
        accountability and redress for victims;
Whereas Secretary of State Antony Blinken released a public statement issuing a 
        historic, formal, standing invitation to all United Nations experts who 
        report and advise on thematic human rights issues to come to the United 
        States, including a specific invitation for the United Nations Special 
        Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism and the United Nations 
        Special Rapporteur on minority issues;
Whereas, on August 2, 2021, the United Nations General Assembly, including the 
        United States, unanimously adopted a resolution to create the Permanent 
        Forum on People of African Descent, a consultative mechanism for people 
        of African descent and other stakeholders as a platform for improving 
        the safety and quality of life and livelihoods of people of African 
        descent;
Whereas persistent racial inequities in education, health care, housing, jobs, 
        wages, social security and veteran benefits, land ownership, financial 
        assistance, food security, voting rights, and the justice system endure 
        in American society and institutions; and
Whereas these inequities are rooted in our Nation's 250-year history of chattel 
        slavery and systemic racism at the expense of people of African descent: 
        Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) celebrates the goals and ideals of the first 
        International Day for People of African Descent, particularly 
        the principle that ``all human beings are born free and equal 
        in dignity and rights and have the potential to contribute 
        constructively to the development and well-being of their 
        societies'';
            (2) condemns any doctrine of racial superiority as 
        scientifically and empirically false, morally condemnable, 
        socially unjust, and dangerous to democracy everywhere and 
        calls for its rejection, together with theories that attempt to 
        determine the existence of separate human races;
            (3) strongly condemns the continuing violent practices and 
        excessive use of force by law enforcement agencies against 
        Africans and people of African descent and condemns structural 
        racism in criminal justice systems in the United States and 
        around the world;
            (4) acknowledges the transatlantic slave trade as one of 
        the darkest chapters in our human history and upholds human 
        dignity and equality for the victims of slavery, the slave 
        trade, and colonialism, in particular people of African descent 
        in the African Diaspora;
            (5) commits to pursue a legislative agenda to eliminate the 
        persistent racial inequities here in the United States in 
        education, health care, housing, jobs, wages, Social Security 
        and veteran benefits, land ownership, financial assistance, 
        food security, voting rights, and the justice system; and
            (6) stands in solidarity with people of African descent 
        across the diaspora against systemic racism and supports the 
        transformational agenda for racial justice and equality as 
        identified in the Systemic Racism Report, and implemented 
        through the subsequent Human Rights Council Resolution and the 
        Permanent Forum on People of African Descent.
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