United Nations A/RES/64/169
General Assembly Distr.: General
19 March 2010
Sixty-fourth session
Agenda item 69 (b)
09-47197
*0947197*

Resolution adopted by the General Assembly
[on the report of the Third Committee (A/64/439/Add.2 (Part II))]
64/169.

International Year for People of African Descent

The General Assembly, Reaffirming the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,1 which proclaims that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and that ever yone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth therein, without distinction of any kind, Recalling the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 2 the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 2 the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, 3 the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, 4 the Convention on the Rights of the Child, 5 the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, 6 the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 7 and other relevant international human rights instruments, Recalling also the relevant provisions of the outcomes of all major United Nations conferences and summits, in particular the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action 8 and the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, 9 Recalling further its resolutions 62/122 of 17 December 2007, 63/5 of 20 October 2008 and 64/15 of 16 November 2009 on the permanent memorial to and remembrance of the victims of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade, 1. Proclaims the year beginning on 1 January 2011 the International Year for People of African Descent, with a view to strengthening national actions and 2 regional and international cooperation for the benefit of people of African descent in relation to their full enjoyment of economic, cultural, social, civil and political rights, their participation and integration in all political, economic, social and cultural aspects of society, and the promotion of a greater knowledge of and respect for their diverse heritage and culture;
2. Encourages Member States, the specialized agencies of the United Nations system, within their respective mandates and existing resources, and civil society to make preparations for and identify possible initiatives that can contribute to the success of the Year;
3. Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its sixty-fifth session a report containing a draft programme of activities for the Year, taking into account the views and recommendations of Member States, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent of the Human Rights Council and other relevant United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, as appropriate.

65th plenary meeting

18 December 2009
_______________
1 Resolution 217 A (III).
2 See resolution 2200 A (XXI), annex.
3 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 660, No. 9464.
4 Ibid., vol. 1249, No. 20378.
5 Ibid., vol. 1577, No. 27531.
6 Ibid., vol. 2220, No. 39481.
7 Resolution 61/106, annex I.
8 A/CONF.157/24 (Part I), chap. III.
9 See A/CONF.189/12 and Corr.1, chap. I.
A/RES/64/169

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