Supporting the goals and ideals of the designation of January 1, 2015, to December 31, 2024, as the "International Decade for People of African Descent".

IV 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 133 Supporting the goals and ideals of the designation of January 1, 2015, to December 31, 2024, as the ‘‘International Decade for People of African Descent’’. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 14, 2019 Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia (for himself, Ms. BASS, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. BROWN of Maryland, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. COHEN, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Ms. HAALAND, Mr. HASTINGS, Mrs. HAYES, Ms. NORTON, Mr. HORSFORD, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. JOHNSON of Texas, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. KHANNA, Mrs. LAWRENCE, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. LEWIS, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. MEEKS, Ms. MOORE, Mr. NEGUSE, Ms. OMAR, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. POCAN, Mr. RICHMOND, Mr. RUSH, Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. VEASEY, and Ms. WILSON of Florida) sub- mitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs RESOLUTION Supporting the goals and ideals of the designation of Janu- ary 1, 2015, to December 31, 2024, as the ‘‘Inter- national Decade for People of African Descent’’. Whereas the decade commencing on January 1, 2015, and ending on December 31, 2024, has been designated as the ‘‘International Decade for People of African Descent’’ with the theme ‘‘People of African descent: recognition, justice and development’’; VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:01 Feb 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR133.IH HR133 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HRES 133 IH Whereas the African Diaspora is expansive, spanning across the globe from Latin America and the Caribbean to Asia and Europe, with persons of African descent having had a historical presence and currently residing on every con- tinent; Whereas during the ‘‘International Decade for People of Afri- can Descent’’ governments and civil society across the globe join together with people of African descent to pro- mote respect, protection, and the fulfilment of human rights and fundamental freedoms; Whereas during the ‘‘International Decade for People of Afri- can Descent’’ governments in concert with civil society are to strengthen national, regional and international ac- tion and cooperation to facilitate the full and equal par- ticipation of people of African descent in society, promote a greater knowledge of and respect for the diverse herit- age, culture and contributions of people of African de- scent to the development of societies, and to strengthen and implement legal frameworks that combat racial dis- crimination; Whereas during the ‘‘International Decade for People of Afri- can Descent’’ governments are to utilize reliable statis- tical data to develop and implement in concert with civil society measurable national action plans and other strate- gies to address racial disparities impacting people of Afri- can descent in the justice, wealth, education, employ- ment, health, housing, development, and other sectors; Whereas government efforts of the ‘‘International Decade for People of African Descent’’ are to also promote the his- tory and heritage of people of African descent, including through research and education, the full and accurate in- clusion of their history and contributions in educational VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:01 Feb 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR133.IH HR133 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HRES 133 IH curricula, and by recognizing the victims and descendants of the transatlantic slave trade and colonialism, as a means of upholding their human dignity and equality and promoting societal reconciliation and healing; Whereas government efforts of the ‘‘International Decade for People of African Descent’’ are to also enable the full, equal and effective participation of people of African de- scent in public and political affairs; and Whereas, on December 10, 2014, Ambassador Samantha Power, United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations, at the General Assembly Special Event on the International Decade for People of African De- scent stated, ‘‘The United States comes to the Inter- national Decade for People of African Descent with a full and robust commitment to ensuring the rights of persons of African descent, and to combating racism and dis- crimination against them.’’: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 (1) supports the goals and ideals of the ‘‘Inter- 2 national Decade for People of African Descent’’; 3 (2) supports the establishment of a global af- 4 fairs strategy and assistance for people of African 5 descent; 6 (3) supports the expansion of current efforts by 7 the United Nations, Organization for Security and 8 Cooperation in Europe, Organization for American 9 States, and other international organizations to ad- 10 dress the human rights situation of people of Afri- 11 can Descent; 12 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:01 Feb 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR133.IH HR133 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HRES 133 IH (4) calls upon the United States in cooperation 1 with civil society (African descent communities, aca- 2 demics, activists, businesses, and philanthropic orga- 3 nizations) to develop and implement domestic and 4 global strategies to execute the goals and ideals of 5 the ‘‘International Decade for People of African De- 6 scent’’ and to combat racism, including by expand- 7 ing the transformative work of the United States 8 Department of State’s Race, Ethnicity, and Social 9 Inclusion Unit in this regard; and 10 (5) reaffirms the commitment of Congress to 11 combat racism, discrimination, and intolerance in 12 the United States and around the globe. 13 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:01 Feb 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR133.IH HR133 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS