VIRTUAL MEETING OF THE COMMITTEE ON JURIDICAL AND POLITICAL AFFAIRS

May 29, 2020 - Washington, DC

H.E., Carlos Alberto Játiva, Chair of the Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs and Permanent Representative of Ecuador to the OAS
Distinguished Permanent Representatives and Alternate Representatives
Colleagues

Good afternoon,

It is good to see everyone and I hope you and your families are doing well.

It is my pleasure to join you this afternoon to discuss the activities of my office pursuant to Follow-up on the mandates of resolution AG/RES. 2941 (XLIX-O/19) “Promotion and Protection of Human Rights” with regard to the Rights of People of African Descent in the Americas and implementation of the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and on the Plan of Action of the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2017-2021)
As many of you are aware, my office takes a leadership role in promoting the issues and challenges as well as the accomplishments and contributions of both Afro-descendants and Indigenous peoples in our hemisphere – groups that have remained on the fringes in m
any of our societies.

Afro-Descendants

With respect to Afro-descendants, our activities started in 2016 with the very first observance of Black History Month here at the OAS. In collaboration with the National Geographic Society and several Permanent Missions to the OAS, we organized a lecture that traced the ancestral history of African descendants in the Americas. With the event’s success, my office, along with various Member States, organized several activities the following year in February 2017 to celebrate Black History Month as well as the International Decade for People of African Descent in the Americas. These activities included a lecture on Afro-Inspired Culture in the Americas, a photo exhibit on Afro life and culture, the first OAS-organized private tour of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the very first Meeting of the Permanent Council to Commemorate the International Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, which is March 25th.

With the success of these activities, Member States sought to institutionalize this initiative and in so doing adopted in February 2018 Resolution CP/RES 1093 which established the Inter-American Week for People of African Descent in the Americas to be held around the 25th of March each year week. That same month our office organized a very revealing and unique photo exhibit in collaboration with the Afro-Latino Historical Society of Chicago and the OAS Art Museum of the Americas entitled, Reclaiming the Legacy of Leaders of African Descent in the Americas (1801-1910). This photo exhibition honored the African heritage of some of the hemisphere’s most revered historical political figures, for many of whom the details of their ancestry remained obfuscated for generations.

This activity was followed by events to mark the first ever Inter-American Week for People of African Descent, which included the holding of a Forum on the Traditional Herbal Remedies of Afro-descendants, the Special Meeting of the Permanent Council to Commemorate the International Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade (which included among others, the participation of Congressman Gregory Meeks), a tour of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, as well as the launch of a page on our OAS website with profiles of historically renowned persons of afro-descent as submitted by Member States.

Last year’s Inter-American Week was held under the theme, “Remember Slavery: Power of the Arts for Justice.” Activities included the holding of a Special Meeting of the Permanent Council which included the participation of the Honorable Epsy Barr Campbell, Vice-President of Costa Rica, the Honorable Carmen Inés Vásquez, Minister of Culture of Colombia, Ms. Sandra Terena, Secretary for Policies to Promote Racial Equality in Brazil, the Honorable Senator Ancelma Perlacios from Bolivia, and other notable speakers from across the region; and other activities similar to previous years. In addition, our office also secured funding from a private donor and commissioned a tryptic painting by a Haitian artist to honor the victims of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade. It has been strategically mounted in the atrium of the Simon Bolivar room and Secretary General Almagro and I have pledged that it will remain there for at least the remainder of the International Decade for People of African Descent.

My office was already in the midst of planning this year’s Inter-american week, which would have been held from March 23-27 under the theme agreed by Member States, ““Confronting Slavery’s Legacy of Racism Together in the Americas”. However, due to the global pandemic, those plans were postponed and we continue to receive expressions of interest from Member States who wish to field presenters for the various activities whenever in future we are able to place the Inter-American Week back on the calendar. Despite the postponement of the week of activities, we were nevertheless able to mark the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade via social media and promote the online profiles of renowned persons of African descent that have significantly contributed to the development of the hemisphere. We hope to be able to celebrate this Week in the near future.

INDIGENOUS PEOPLES

Mr. Chairman, similar to my office’s efforts to give visibility to the challenges facing the Afro-descendant community, my office was pleased to take a leading role in organizing similar activities to shed light on the issues facing Indigenous populations in our hemisphere.
In keeping with the Plan of Action for the implementation of the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2017-2021) and the February 2018 Permanent Council establishment of the Inter-American Week for Indigenous People to be held around August 9 each year, my office organized, along with the Secretariat for Access to Rights and Equity and the OAS Art Museum, a series of activities to commemorate the first Inter-American Week for Indigenous Peoples in August 2018.

Activities included:

1. An Art Exhibition on Indigenous Peoples which showcased paintings and crafts loaned by Permanent Missions to the OAS
2. A visit to the National Museum of the American Indian for Permanent Representatives, Permanent Observers, and senior OAS officials.

3. A Special Session of the Permanent Council on Indigenous People to promote dialogue on forward-looking policy regarding the need to implement the rights of Indigenous peoples, and to promote their social inclusion in the Americas. Panelists included leaders of Indigenous communities and member state national authorities with responsibility for policy on indigenous peoples.
4. An Inter-American Forum on Indigenous Peoples of the Americas which included presentations from representatives of Indigenous groups, national authorities, and senior OAS staff. The presenters included Miss Panama 2018, Rosa Montezuma, the first woman of Indigenous origin to win the pageant in Panama.

Following the success of the first Inter-american week for indigenous peoples, in 2019 my office organized the 2nd Inter-American Week for Indigenous Peoples. It was held from August 5-9 under the theme, “Indigenous Languages of the Americas” and was also organized in collaboration with the Secretariat for Access to Rights and Equity (SARE).
The Inter- American week comprised several activities including:

1. An Art and Book Exhibition in the Marcus Garvey Hall of Culture to highlight the importance of language as a conduit for cultural expression and preservation.

2. A Special Joint Session of the Permanent Council and CIDI held to commemorate the Inter-American Week for Indigenous Peoples and the International Year of Indigenous Languages. Speakers included: Honourable. Petita Ayarza, the First person from the Guna Indigenous community of Panama to be elected as a Representative in the National Assembly; Ms. Esther Kuisch-Laroche, Director and Representative of the UNESCO Office for Central America in San Jose, Costa Rica; Mr. Luis Felipe Duchicela, Expert in Indigenous Affairs for USAID; video presentation by Mr. Juan Gregorio Regino, Director General of the Mexican National Institute of Indigenous Languages of Mexico; and a video message from Ms. Patricia Velásquez, OAS Goodwill Ambassador for Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

3. A Forum on Globalization and the Preservation of Indigenous Languages and Cultures: the Role of Youth & Technology which was followed by musical performances by a Chilean opera singer and a young Guatemalan pianist.
4. A Private guided tour of the National Museum of the American Indian for the second consecutive year.

Additionally, courtesy of the Permanent Mission of Ecuador, we unveiled a painting in honor of the history and culture of Indigenous peoples of the Americas. This painting hangs in the atrium of the Simon Bolivar opposite to the tryptic painting in honor of the victims of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade

We look forward to working with Member States on this year’s Inter-American Week for Indigenous Peoples bearing in mind the existent circumstances.

In closing, Mr. Chairman, I wish to thank everyone that has worked with us throughout the years including Member States, Permanent Observers, SARE—the Department of Social Inclusion, The OAS Art Museum of the Americas, and the Press Department. We appreciate your support and dedication in carrying out this most important initiative to highlight the contributions of persons of African descent and Indigenous peoples to our hemisphere’s development. I believe that as an Organization working for the peoples of the Americas, it is incumbent upon us to focus attention on the most vulnerable populations and give them voice. Only then can we truly create a just, free, and equitable hemisphere – which is our mission and ultimate goal.

I thank you