THE AFRICAN COURIER. Reporting Africa and its Diaspora! The African Courier is an international magazine published in Germany to report on Africa and the Diaspora African experience. The first issue of the bimonthly magazine appeared on the newsstands on 15 February 1998. The African Courier is a communication forum for European-African political, economic and cultural exchanges, and a voice for Africa in Europe.
Human rights experts began on Monday (20 February) the first United Nations investigation of the situation of people of African descent in Germany. Black community representative, Elisabeth Kaneza, is calling on Africans to come out and meet the UN experts, who are scheduled to hold Town Hall Meetings in five cities across the country.
In Germany, people of African origin are disproportionately affected by racial discrimination and right-wing violence.
They are subjected to multiple discrimination; for example due to their origin, descent, skin colour, nationality, religion, age, gender, disability or social status.
Although they have been part of Germany for centuries, Black people are largely underrepresented in public life. They are instead subject to prejudices that make it difficult for them, for example, to access their rights, adequate employment, high-quality education and housing. There is also a lack of recognition of their social contributions.
Strengthening the rights of members of the African Diaspora and increasing efforts to combat racism and racial discrimination worldwide is the mandate of the United Nations Working Group on People of African Descent (WGEPAD), which was formed following the World Conference against Racism 2001 in Durban.
From 20 to 27 February 2017, the working group will be travelling across Germany for the first time on an investigative mission to collect information on the specific human rights situation of people of African origin. It will hold talks with representatives of state institutions as well as civil society, and will publish a report of its findings.
The visit is taking place within the framework of the International Decade of People of African Descent (2015–2024), which highlights the human rights situation of the African Diaspora worldwide and aims to fight racial discrimination against them in the societies they live in.
The expert group will hold Town Hall Meetings nationwide, to which members of the African Diaspora are invited to discuss their human rights situation and to highlight both good practices and challenges.
The events take place in the following regions and respective cities in Germany:
Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia:
22 February 2017 / Time: 14:30 – 16:30 hrs
Venue: P@chwork – Afropa e.V. , Königsbrückerstr. 23, 01099 Dresden
Registration: chaimite@afropa.org
Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland, Baden-Wuerttemberg and Bavaria:
23 February 2017 / Time 15:00 – 18:00 hrs
Venue: Ökumenisches Zentrum Christuskirche, Beethovenplatz 11-13, 60325 Frankfurt am Main
Registration: townhall.pad.frankfurt@gmail.com
North Rhine-Westphalia
24 February 2017 / Time: 15:30 – 18:00 hrs
Venue: FORUM Volkshochschule im Museum am Neumarkt, Cäcilienstr. 29-33, 50667 Cologne
Registration: townhall.pad.cologne@gmail.com
Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Bremen, Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern:
25 February 2017 / 10:30 – 14:00 hrs
Venue: Fraktion DIE LINKE, Lilienstr.15, 20095 Hamburg
Registration: townhall.pad.hamburg@gmail.com
Berlin and Brandenburg
25 February 2017 / Time: 17.00 – 19.30 hrs
Venue: Rathaus Tiergarten, Mathilde-Jacob Platz 1, 10551 Berlin
Registration: townhall.pad.berlin@gmail.com
The official United Nations Communication can be found here.
You can promote the visibility of this event by using the hashtags #africandescent and #africandescentGermany in the social media.
For information on the course of the visit, follow the Twitter accounts: @IDPAD_Germany and @UNHumanRights
Forward this message to people of African descent and their organizations!
Use this special opportunity to actively promote the recognition, justice and development of people of African origin in Germany through your contribution!
