Historic
meeting in Vienna
Africans and African
Descendant met in Vienna last weekend.
More than hundred (135) NGO,s of Africans and African Descendants
from Europe, America, Africa and Asia came together to hammer out a
consensus and prepare a common Agenda for the United Nation World
Conference Against Racism (WCAR) to be held in Durban, SA ( August
28 to Sept 07.2001).
For years, discussions about Slavery, Racial Discrimination and
Racism have not been accorded a meaningful attention by the
International Community.
A key issue addressed by the Vienna meeting is preparation of the
Black Caucus to the UNWCAR.
Vienna historic image as a heart of Europe makes it a suitable venue
for this historic gathering which is significant because of the
moment , the quality of its participants and issues as stake.
For the first time in the European history, African and African
Descendants are meeting to address the Globalisation of Racism.
The Vienna Conference represents a continuation of those
discussions, concerns and issues tabled at other Conferences around
the World and, as early as the 1900 Panafrican Congress held in
London, England.
Participants in the Vienna NGO Caucus meeting emphasize the
Centrality of Black People's Reality, Culture, Experiences and
Concerns and Perspectives to the WCAR Agenda - a fact that has
traditionally been ignored by the International Community, as
recently as the Strasbourg and Geneva Preparatory Conferences.
The Triangular Slave Trade that involved the largest forced
migration in world history and the death of tens of millions of
Africans should be recognized as and declared a Crime Against
Humanity, in addition compensation and reparation measures should be
implemented to address the ongoing legacy of depopulation,
underdevelopment, exclusion, marginalization and exploitation
inherited by Africans and Peoples of African Descent.
For information :
AC Caucus