About Us
Background
In May 2025, the creation of the People of African Descent Stakeholder Group (PAD SG) was officially endorsed by the Coordination Mechanism of Major Groups and Other Stakeholders (MGoS CM).
This milestone crowns years of concerted mobilisation by African descent movements in every world region and finally inserts their perspectives—on an equal footing with women, youth, Indigenous Peoples, and other long-recognised constituencies—into the UN’s formal architecture for sustainable-development decision-making.
Who are the people african descent?
Following the UN Working Group of Experts (E/CN.4/2003/WG.20/WP.3), people of African descent are the descendants of African victims of the slave trades — and of more recent African migrations — who continue to experience racial discrimination in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
Mandate & Objectives
PAD SG’s Terms of Reference set five core objectives:
- Visibility & Integration – embed African descent priorities across the 2030 Agenda, the Pact for the Future, and all implementation, follow-up and review processes.
- Policy Input & Monitoring – contribute evidence-based positions and track delivery, especially through the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) and other accountability spaces.
- Platform for Engagement – equip organisations and activists with guidance to intervene effectively at global, regional and national levels.
- Constructive Partnership – cultivate collaborative working relationships with Member States and UN entities.
- Coordination with MGoS – align and, where beneficial, act jointly with other Major Groups and Stakeholders.
Why a Stakeholder Group?
- Persistent invisibility. Although an estimated 250–300 million people worldwide trace their ancestry to the trans-Atlantic, Mediterranean and sub-Saharan slave trades, they were not named in either the Millennium Development Goals or the Sustainable Development Goals (Agenda 2030).
- Durban 2001 legacy. The World Conference against Racism established that racism is structural, systemic and global, and placed reparatory justice on the international agenda. PAD SG is the institutional mechanism that now carries those Durban commitments forward.
- Second International Decade (2025-2034). As the first Decade closed with many goals unmet—Recognition, Justice and Development—the General Assembly proclaimed a second. PAD SG’s establishment transforms the Decade’s spirit into a permanent, procedurally guaranteed seat at all sustainable-development tables.
Steering Committee
Membership
PAD SG is open to non-governmental organisations and individuals combating racism and promoting the rights of the African descent.
Membership is open to civil society organizations and individuals working to eliminate racism and promote the rights of people of African descent. There is no membership fee, but voluntary contributions may be requested. Members are expected to contribute actively to committees and regional efforts and support the goals of PAD-SG through advocacy, information sharing, and collaboration.
Members commit to:
- Participating in national, regional and global SDG processes.
- Contributing expertise to committees and thematic task forces.
- Promoting PAD SG’s work within their own networks.