GENEVA - The UN Human Rights Office today published a report calling on States and others to double down on delivering reparatory justice for Africans and people of African descent, including through formal apologies, truth-seeking, memorialisation, medical and psychosocial support and compensation.
The report finds that reparatory justice for legacies of enslavement, the trade in enslaved Africans and colonialism is key to dismantling the systemic racism that affects Africans and people of African descent.
For the most part, the report finds that amid some rollback of commitments to racial justice, needed measures taken by States, business enterprises, religious groups, universities, museums and others remain limited.
"Systemic racism is deeply rooted in legacies of the past. To deliver reparatory justice, States and other actors must implement a comprehensive approach that includes reparations in various forms," said UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk. "To be truly effective, this approach must squarely consider the web of links between the past and the present - at the individual and societal levels, in all areas of life - in order to dismantle unjust structures and systems designed and shaped by the past.
"There is no one-size-fits-all approach. Initiatives and processes should be grounded in history and local context, respond to evolving demands of communities, and centre the specific experiences of women of African descent in particular," he added.
Africans and people of African descent must guide the design and implementation of these measures through meaningful, inclusive and safe participation, the report says. To foster this, States should recommit to fighting racial injustice, acknowledging the profound harms today of the practices of the past, and to protecting those combating systemic racism and advancing reparatory justice.
The report points to initiatives by some States and others to move towards reparatory justice. Examples include the review of public spaces to identify, remove or contextualise those linked to individuals involved in enslavement, the trade in enslaved Africans or colonialism in several European States, where museums are also taking steps to address their collections' links with the past. The restitution of cultural heritage, including the return of "Benin bronzes", is continuing.
Some academic institutions have carried out or funded external research into their own history, issued apologies, advanced educational opportunities for descendant communities and created memorials. Some business enterprises have also taken clear steps to acknowledge their links with the past, including through research, and several religious groups have undertaken truth-telling initiatives and made commitments to grants.
Claims for compensation have been lodged before courts in multiple jurisdictions, and associated legal arguments have bolstered wider public movements and fostered political pressure for change.
The report calls for deeper research and policy proposals on broader structural and systemic issues, including on climate and environmental justice - as well as reforms to address the shortcomings of development aid and international financial and governance architecture.
"States and other actors should build support for reparatory justice by showing its benefits to all of society and its importance in dismantling systemic racism," said Türk. "Political leaders have a responsibility to offer creative, effective and comprehensive responses to calls for reparatory justice. First and foremost, States need to take these measures, and religious groups, business enterprises and others should confront their own pasts and explore concrete avenues for reparation."
