Background
National Reparations
Rally
Saturday, September 13, 2003
UNITED NATIONS
47th Street & 1st Avenue, NYC
_________________________________________
The
Road to the United Nations National Reparations Rally
In 2001, the United Nations World Conference against
Racism declared the trans Atlantic slave trade, slavery, and colonialism
crimes against humanity. A National Reparations Rally will be held at
the United Nations (47th St & 1st Ave) on Saturday, September 13,
2003 at 12pm to demand that the criminals pay for their crimes against
humanity.
The Millions for Reparations (MFR) organizing committee
will bring together African reparations advocates in the US, Africa,
Europe, and the Caribbean, and take the WCAR Pan African reparations
mandate to the streets!
The MFR mobilization effort was initiated by the Durban
400, a grassroots delegation from the United States, at the World Conference
against Racism (WCAR), held in Durban South Africa in September 2001.
Led by the December 12th Movement International Secretariat and the
National Black United Front, the Durban 400 is committed to making slavery
reparations a mass grassroots issue. Last year's historic Reparations
rally in Washington DC drew thousands from over 30 states to the first
mass rally for reparations to be held in the United States.
At the WCAR, the Durban 400 relentlessly lobbied African
and Caribbean national delegates holding votes in the conference on
three key issues: (1) The declaration of the Trans Atlantic slave trade
and slavery as crimes against humanity; (2) Establishing the economic
roots of racism and (3) Reparations.
The conference proved to be grueling. The debate on
politics and language became fierce and words became weapons. Western
delegates were intransigent and tried to pressure many developing nations
to compromise in backroom brawls. Undaunted, delegate after delegate
stood in steeled Pan African Unity. Algeria, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Zambia,
Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cuba, Namibia, Barbados, Belize, Tanzania,
Gambia, and many others vociferously condemned the Trans Atlantic Slave
trade and slavery as crimes against humanity and demanded reparations.
When the United States government's delegation realized
that a Pan African united front was concretizing they staged a high
profile walk out. The rest of the world went on to make history without
them. The final declaration of the WCAR clearly states that the Trans
Atlantic Slave Trade, and slavery are crimes against humanity and recommended
compensation from nations that perpetrated these crimes.
For Africans in the US, the WCAR was the culmination
of years of struggle in the United Nations international arena. Following
in the foot steps of William Patterson and Malcolm X, the December 12th
Movement International Secretariat, a non governmental organization
(NGO) with consultative status in the United Nations Economic and Social
Council, has participated in the Commission on Human Rights since 1989,
representing 40 million Africans in the United States. The Secretariat
has established firm ties and alliances with nations and international
organizations around the world. Their consistent and persistent work
has resulted in the pivotal hearings on racism in the United States
conducted by the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism,
racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, Maurice Glele
in 1994 in Harlem NY.
Further, the Secretariat was instrumental in organizing
hearings on human rights abuses in the US criminal justice system /
death penalty conducted by UN Special Rapporteur on extra-judicial,
summary or arbitrary executions, Bacre Waly Ndiaye in 1997 in Brooklyn
NY. The December 12th Movement IS has participated in many international
conferences and was instrumental in the call for the third United Nations
World Conference Against Racism 2001.
The National Black United Front (NBUF) is an organization
made up of concerned and committed individuals and organizations who
have united to assume responsibility for working and leading the struggle
for a better life for themselves and their children. The Black United
Front is a broad-based organization, which includes all social, political,
religious and cultural sections of the Black community.
With the birth of the NBUF in June of 1980, the vision
of building an organization that would represent the various elements
of the Black community became a reality. Some 1500 Black people from
35 states and five countries came together to form a "united front."
In the space of only five and half years, NBUF grew from five local
chapters to over 18 certified local chapters and a presence in 40 cities
nationwide. Since 1980, NBUF and its various chapters have dealt with,
most notably, quality education for Black children, police and Black
community relations, electoral politics, women's affairs, economic development,
housing and international affairs.
The reparations movement is rapidly gaining momentum
in the United States and around the world. This fundamental and critical
issue may prove to be the catalyst of change in the African struggle
for human rights, in the 21st century.
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