One St. Martin Association at Consultation with United Nations PFPAD for Draft Declaration – StMaartenNews.com – News Views Reviews

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (December 15, 2024)—The One St. Martin Association (One SXM) participated in the consultation of the United Nations Permanent Forum for People of African Descent (PFPAD) on December 12, said Dr. Rhoda Arrindell, president of One SXM.

The meeting, held in Barbados, focused on the draft declaration on the human rights of people of African descent. It was a “packed and impactful day of discussions,” said Arrindell.

According to June Soomer, Chair of the Permanent Forum, the meeting marked the first public consultation on the draft declaration.

In her opening address, Soomer acknowledged attendees who had been laying the groundwork for decades. These included Barbados’ Ambassador to CARICOM, David Comissiong; Epsy Campbell, former Vice President of Costa Rica; Pastor Murillo Martinez, lawyer and Minister Plenipotentiary and Itinerant Ambassador of the Peoples; and other PFPAD board members.

Hillary Brown, Program Manager for the Caribbean Reparations Commission, was credited for ensuring that the CARICOM heads of Government are kept abreast of the developments within the forum.

Campbell, the PFPAD chair during its 2022-2024 term, urged participants to consider land rights and “all the issues of reparations” in their deliberations.

Murillo Martinez said that the declaration would be the first universal instrument to consolidate the individual and collective human rights of people of African descent.

The issues the delegates worked on were grouped under four themes: 1 – Recognizing and addressing systemic and structural racism; 2 – Reparatory justice for histories and legacies of colonialism, enslavement, apartheid, and genocide; 3 – Collective rights for people of African descent (as distinct peoples with their own cultural, historical, and social identities); 4 – Sustainable development and increasing equality within and among countries.

Arrindell reminded delegates to consider “the human rights violations of still colonized peoples in the Caribbean. What also stood out for me was the emphasis on declaring that we are … a people, and the insistence on the respect, protection, and full rights of people of African descent worldwide,” said Arrindell.

“The PFPAD invitation extended to the One St. Martin Association allows a St. Martin voice to participate in this important global conversation and enables St. Martin people and organizations to be part of ongoing actions and the related evolving changes that will occur over time,” said Dr. Arrindell.

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