Oral Statement to the 58th Session of the Commission on Human Rights
Agenda Item 14 (b) Specific Groups and Individuals: Minorities
March/April 2002
We, the Afro Descendant Minority living in the United States of America, would like to thank the United Nations for requesting that the Commission on Human Rights consider establishing a working group or other mechanism of the United Nations to study the problems of racial discrimination faced by people of African descent living in the African Diaspora and make proposals for the elimination of racial discrimination against people of African descent.
While we appreciate the encouragement to States to deal with the problems Afro Descendants face, a study of the problems of racial discrimination would not address the root problem, especially the negation of the essence of the victims. Racial discrimination is just the end product of our having suffered through slavery. Therefore, it is not enough to address the issue of discrimination ONLY. Justice calls for an examination of the entire cause-and-effect phenomena stemming from our having been slaves!
We, in our search for our identity, have declared ourselves Afro Descendants. It is our identity which was taken, and it is the lack our identity which is a constant source of anger and despair today. Because we lack our identity we have suffered the denial by history of many of our rights. Economically and developmentally we are currently suffering the aftermath of what took place during slavery.
The UN has noted that some States have taken the initiative to apologize and have paid reparation, where appropriate, for grave and massive human rights violations. Afro Descendants have had our mother tongue, culture and religion forcibly removed: hence, our loss of identity and the negation of our essence. We Afro Descendants have not existed in the United Nations system. Therefore our prayer is for official recognition of our self-chosen collective identity and reparations.
Since racial discrimination is found in the "negation of the essence of the victims," this is our proposal for the elimination of racial discrimination.
Mr. Silis Muhammad
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