Statement by UN Human Rights Mechanisms ahead of the International Day of Women and Girls of African Descent 2025.

“This 25 July 2025, we mark the first commemoration of the International Day of Women and Girls of African Descent, proclaimed by the General Assembly in August 2024. This momentous occasion serves as a call to prevent and eliminate racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance against women and girls of African descent, to honour their profound contributions throughout history, and, together, and to reaffirm our solidarity with their ongoing struggles as we enter the Second International Decade for People of African Descent (2025-2034).

We recall that in the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, States acknowledged the distinct and compounded manifestations of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, women and girls face, and called for gender-sensitive approaches in addressing racism and for the empowerment and protection of women and girls.

Throughout the centuries and despite facing oppression and marginalization, women and girls of African descent have contributed to build and shape their societies and communities: from science to literature, from politics to the arts, from sports to culture. They have sustained their communities through leadership, creativity, resilience, and care. They have stood up firmly as the guardians and defenders of the cultural memory, traditions and the legacy of people of African descent, transmitting them from generation to generation including during enslavement and colonialism. Tirelessly, sometimes anonymously and silently, they have preserved the social fabric of their communities and societies from destruction.

Regrettably, these contributions have gone largely underrecognized, undermined, overlooked, untold and unknown.

During the first International Decade for People of African Descent, significant progress has nevertheless been made in the recognition and empowerment of women and girls of African descent. In some regions, some women of African descent have reached the highest levels of political representation, accessing spaces of power and decision-making positions from which they had been systematically excluded for a long time. Their struggles have been at the forefront of racial justice movements and instrumental in advancing a deeper understanding of intersectional discrimination.

However, such historic steps forward should not mask the major, unaddressed challenges that hinder the full enjoyment of the human rights of women and girls of African descent in all areas of life, largely due to entrenched stereotypes, prejudices, and intersecting forms of discrimination.

Women and girls of African descent continue to face multiple forms of violence, online and offline. In political spheres, those holding positions of power have been often targeted by hate speech, harassment, were victims of misogynoir, and their capacities undermined, challenged or questioned. Migrant women of African descent are exposed to racialized abuse, sexual violence, unsafe deportations, and at risk of trafficking or re-exploitation. In some instances, they have been separated from their children in violation of their right to family life. In conflict-related situations, women and girls of African descent have paid the highest price of life and abuses, often with impunity.

The disproportionate effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on women and girls of African descent brought to the surface the inequalities and obstacles they face in accessing adequate health care services. Barriers to sexual and reproductive health rights and services remain severe and deeply entrenched. They still experience disproportionately high rates of maternal mortality, early pregnancy, and obstetric violence, which reflect the structural racial biases embedded in health care systems. Racial profiling and mass incarceration gravely impact their lives, perpetuating patterns of discrimination in the criminal justice system.

Across employment, housing, and access to social services, women and girls of African descent continue to fall behind in key socio-economic indicators in the societies where they live. They are employed in less skilled jobs and receive low wages compared to the rest of the population. High school dropout rates among girls of African descent and the poor quality of education impede their access to the labour market and jeopardize their advancement. Structural barriers also persist in the realms of climate and digital justice, where their needs and voices are often overlooked.

Confronting these injustices necessitates the regular collection and publication of reliable data disaggregated by race and ethnicity, gender and other factors to unveil the realities of women and girls of African descent, and to inform targeted policies and strategies to remedy the situation.

Against this backdrop, we urge States to seize the opportunity of this International Day to prioritize reparatory measures that address the lasting impacts of enslavement and colonialism endured by women and girls of African descent. This includes acknowledging and redressing historical, gendered forms of racial violence, such as sexual exploitation and abuse, and family separation.

We call on States and all stakeholders to implement the various recommendations we have issued notably by guaranteeing access to health, education, justice, housing, and decent work for women and girls of African descent including through temporary special measures aimed at achieving concrete and sustainable progress. We also urge States to implement their human rights obligations, the DDPA commitments and the relevant SDGs, fully and effectively, to addressing the multiple and intersecting forms of racism and racial discrimination women and girls of African descent experience and to promoting their advancement.

Advancing towards truly transformative justice requires placing the voices, experiences, and leadership of women and girls of African descent at the centre of ambitious political agendas, as well as making visible their role of preserving the history and culture of people of African descent.”


*The experts:Mr. Michał Balcerzak, Chairperson, Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
Mr. Joel M. Modiri, Chairperson, Group of Independent Eminent Experts on the Implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action
Amb. James Ndirangu Waweru, Chairperson-Rapporteur, Intergovernmental Working Group on the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action
Ms. Tracie L. Keesee and Mr. Víctor Manuel Rodríguez Rescia, Experts of the International Independent Expert Mechanism to Advance Racial Justice and Equality in the context of Law Enforcement
Mr. Martin Kimani, Chairperson, Permanent Forum on People of African Descent
Ms. Ashwini K.P., Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance
Ms. Bina D’Costa, Chairperson, Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent
For more information, please contact:

Marie Joseph Ayissi marie.ayissi@un.org
Cynthia Racky Mafoua: cynthia.mafoua@un.org
Amock Lameck Alikuleti amock.alikuleti@un.org