Prof Verene Shepherd appointed to UN group

Sunday, April 11, 2010

PROFESSOR Verene Shepherd, who heads the Department of History and Archaeology at the University of the West Indies, Mona, has been appointed a member of the United Nations Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent, the foreign ministry announced yesterday.

Shepherd was selected for the group -- which is under the Human Rights Council of the United Nations -- from a large group of international candidates and will represent Latin America and the Caribbean.

In announcing the appointment, Alex Van Meewen, president of the council, expressed confidence that Professor Shepherd will make an "important contribution to the United Nations Human Rights work", the ministry said in a news release.

The Working Group was established in April 2002 with a mandate to collaborate with respective countries to devise policies aimed at eradicating racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related intolerance.

The group meets annually in Geneva and reports to the Human Rights Council on its findings and recommendations.

Professor Shepherd replaces the late Professor Rex Nettleford who was appointed to the Working Group in 2008.

Her appointment takes effect tomorrow and she will participate in the ninth session of the Working Group scheduled to be held in Geneva, April 12-16.