WASHINGTON, United States (CMC) — The Organization of American States (OAS) says its Permanent Council on Friday held a special session to commemorate the “International Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Slavery and the Trans-Atlantic slave trade”.

The OAS said the session was held “within the framework” of the Plan of Action for the Decade for Persons of Afro Descent in the Americas (2016-2025).

It featured presentations by US Congressman Gregory Meeks, representative for the fifth congressional district in Queens, New York; and the US National Spokesperson for the Congress of Racial Equality, Niger Innis.

There were special presentations by several persons including the Secretary of the District of Columbia, Lauren Vaughan; author and Harold Paul Green Research Professor of Law at George Washington University in Washington, DC, Dr Robert Cottrol; and Deputy Director of the Washington DC Mayor’s Office on Latino Affairs (MOLA), Julio Guity-Guevara.

“We can never and should never forget the impact of slavery and the current plight of many persons of African descent in the Americas (including the Caribbean),” said the OAS Assistant Secretary General, Belizean Nestor Mendez.

“We must also recognize the advances and triumphs that have been made in the pursuit of social inclusion, and political and economic empowerment for all.”

Chair of the Permanent Council and Permanent Representative of Chile to the OAS, Ambassador Juan Anibal Barria, said that that “equality and non-discrimination are two cornerstones of human rights.

“On the 70th anniversary of the proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it must be recognized that, unfortunately, people of African descent continue to be a group whose human rights continue to be violated,” he added.

The OAS said the session was part of the activities carried out by the organisation as part of the Inter-American Week for People of African Descent in the Americas.