Afro descendant parliamentarians and other political leaders of the Americas and the Caribbean are converging in the capital city of Costa Rica to act upon the framework of the International Decade for People of Afro Descent 2015-2024, which was established by the United Nations last year.

This meeting has been declared of national interest by President Luis Guillermo Solis, whose grandmother was an Afro Caribbean from Jamaica. The meetings began yesterday at the Legislative Assembly in Costa Rica, where Afro Costa Rican female legislators greeted the visiting leaders.

The legislative Subcommittee on Afro Descendant Affairs and the Presidential Commissioner for the Afro Descendant Affairs are the organizers of these meetings.

A legislator from the ruling Citizen Action Party (Spanish initials: PAC), Epsy Campbell, spoke at the initial meeting. She stressed the need of a political agenda that focuses on inclusion and on the development of Afro Costa Rican communities. Political participation by this ethnic group is essential in Costa Rica.

According to the United Nations, There are around 200 million people identifying themselves as being of African descent live in the Americas. Many millions more live in other parts of the world, outside of the African continent.

Whether as descendants of the victims of the transatlantic slave trade or as more recent migrants, they constitute some of the poorest and most marginalized groups. Studies and findings by international and national bodies demonstrate that people of African descent still have limited access to quality education, health services, housing and social security.

The International Decade for People of African Descent, proclaimed by General Assembly resolution 68/237 and to be observed from 2015 to 2024, provides a solid framework for the United Nations, Member States, civil society and all other relevant actors to join together with people of African descent and take effective measures for the implementation of the programme of activities in the spirit of recognition, justice and development.