Welcome
High-level meeting to mark the closure of the International Decade For People Of African Descent, Statement of Germany, New York, 8 November 2024
On 8 November 2024, the U.N. marked the closure of the International Decade for People of African Descent with a high-level meeting in New York., © UN
The statement was delivered by Ambassador Dr. Thomas Zahneisen, chargé d’affaires a.i.
I would like to express our sincere gratitude to all panelists for their inspiring and at the same time thought-provoking presentations.
As it is the first time our delegation takes the floor, allow me to outline from the outset, that the UN Decade for People of African Descent has formed an important platform for Germany, both domestically and internationally, and we strongly support the calls for a renewal of the UN Decade.
I would like to focus my intervention a few concrete examples of how Germany has put the objectives of the UN Decade into practice:
In order to advance efforts against racism and right-wing extremism,
· we established a ministerial Cabinet Committee,
· appointed the first ministerial-level Commissioner for Anti-Racism and
· formed a dedicated coordination office for the implantation of the UN Decade which is supported by an advisory board composed of representatives of Afro-German and Afro-diasporic civil society organizations.
Between 2021 and 2024 alone, Germany dedicated more than 1 billion EUR for the fight against right wing extremism, racism, antisemitism and related intolerance, and to ensure a consistent support for affected communities and the promotion of civil society projects.
We changed our criminal code in order to better tackle hate speech and hate crime.
We also took decisive action in regulating social networks with regard to their handling of hate speech online.
Looking ahead, we will further increase our efforts through a new federal strategy, “Together for Democracy and Against Extremism” which was adopted in May.
Mr Chair,
The fight for recognition, justice and development for people of African descent also forms a core component of our foreign policy.
One important aspect is addressing Germany’s colonial past. For us, it is essential to do this in dialogue with the affected countries and societies.
Racist ideas provided the pseudo-scientific basis for German colonialism and atrocities committed under German colonial rule.
We are committed to an honest and open appraisal of the past that includes recognizing injustices that have been committed.
That is why during recent visits to Tanzania and Namibia, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier explicitly addressed German colonial crimes.
Moreover, we are establishing policies for the return of cultural artefacts to their places of origin. Amongst others, we have returned 21 Benin Bronzes to Nigeria in 2022.
Regarding development cooperation, we have started a reflection on how structures and instruments are shaped by coloniality and how to transform them towards a more equitable model of cooperation.
Here Africa remains our key partner This commitment will be reflected in our new Africa Policy Guidelines, which will be published shortly.
The closure of the International Decade for People of African Descent deserves our truthfulness. The truth is: yes, we have achieved a lot, at national level and collectively, but a lot more needs to be done to reach our goal.
For this reason, I want to reiterate what I said in the beginning: we would welcome a second UN Decade for People of African Decent to be adopted to continue our collective endeavor