On its launch, the UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Flavia Pansieri said:[9][10] The road to a world free from racism, prejudice and stigma is rocky.
[19][20] "The stamp features images of players from the Colored Hockey League that operated from 1895 to the 1930s and lists the catchy names of some of the teams -- Jubilees, Stanleys, Eurekas, Sea-Sides, Rangers, Royals and Moss Backs... many of whom were the sons and grandsons of escaped U.S. slaves who sought freedom in Canada.
"[21] On 24 January 2020, the Government of the Republic of Costa Rica, in concert with UNESCO, celebrated World Day of African and Afrodescendant Culture for the first time.
[25] Although this is not a part of the Mexican activities and policies related to the International Decade of African Descent, it is important to note because for the first time Afro-Mexicans had the option to identify themselves in a population survey.
The memorial, entitled The Ark of Return is by Haitian-American architect Rodney Leon, who also designed the African Burial Ground National Monument.
[29][30][31] Notably, South African Zozibini Tunzi "was the first dark-skinned Black woman to wear the crown with short, natural and unprocessed hair".
[31][32] Following a UN declaration of 17 December 2024, proclaiming a Second International Decade for People of African Descent, beginning on 1 January 2025, the Chair of CARICOM, Mia Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados, stated: "The achievement reflects the tireless advocacy of our Region and the strides made during the first decade, including global recognition of our ten-point plan for reparatory justice and the establishment of the United Nations Permanent Forum for People of African Descent.
... We must continue to press the international community for a mature, face-to-face conversation at all levels, so that we may see them repair the damage from the exploitation through the immoral institutions of slavery and colonialism which our people suffered from.