In 2019, Siphiwe Baleka, President of the Balanta B’urassa History & Genealogy Society in America (BBHAGSIA) started a campaign to make the Apostolic edict known as the Dum Diversas (June 18, 1452) recognized as the official start of the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade and to establish the status of its victims under international law as prisoners of war due reparations, including repatriation and citizenship in their African homelands. After launching the campaign,
the Catholic Church has received a PRESENTMENT TO THE HOLY SEE IN FURTHERANCE OF REPARATIONS;
the United Nations Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent has been briefed on the transgenerational epigenetic effects and ethnocide committed against the victims;
the Intergovernmental Working Group on the Effective Implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action has been briefed on the New Afrikan Independence Movemant and Human Rights;
the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent (PFPAD) has been issued a MANDATE TO REQUEST AN ADVISORY OPINION FROM THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE ON THEIR STATUS AS PRISONERS OF WAR UNDER THE GENEVA CONVENTION;
PFPAD has itselfed engaged the Pope concerning the PRESENTMENT TO THE HOLY SEE IN FURTHERANCE OF REPARATIONS;
and now, on April 14, 2023, the African Union Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, paid a visit to the International Court of Justice to discuss how the AU can participate in ICJ advisory proceedings and play a role in cases before the court involving AU member states.
According to Siphiwe Baleka, his diplomatic work and strategic advocacy is shaping the discourse and moving the needle forward towards a collective framework for reparatiory justice for Afro Descendant peoples.
The Board As I See It: Developments Concerning Global Afrikan Strategic Litigation, PFAD, ICJ and AU
by Siphiwe Baleka
On June 25, 2019, I published Volume 3 of Balanta B’urassa, My Sons: Those Wh Resist Remain. A chapter entitled The Sovereign Claim of Guine Agaist Slavery discussed the contest of laws existing between sovereign powers at the moment when my ancestors came into contact with European Christians and revealed the circumstances that led up to the Portuguese invasion of the West Coast of Africa. That was the moment when the lightbulb went off and I realized with precision and clarity, how, when, where and why the Trans Atlantic Slave trade started. It was the moment when I understood the Apostolic Edict known as the Dum Diversas and the evil it unleashed in the world that has yet to be rectified. Before June 2019, no one was talking about the Dum Diversas Papal Bull in international forums or media. But then . . . .
October 29, 2019 - I published LEGAL ISSUES EFFECTING BALANTA AS A RESULT OF CONTACT WITH EUROPEAN CHRISTIANS
November 6, 2019 I published DEVELOPMENT OF LEGAL ISSUES CONCERNING BALANTA PEOPLE and SUMMARY OF LEGAL ISSUES CONCERNING BALANTA PEOPLE highlighting the Dum Diversas.
July 27, 2020 - I published the Lineage Restoration Movement Declaration
September 24, 2020 I published BALANTA RESPONSE TO THE UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF STATE MIKE POMPEO ON THE 47TH GUINEA BISSAU INDEPENDENCE DAY
November 13, 2020 - BBHAGSIA PRESIDENT ADDRESSES THE WORKING GROUP OF EXPERTS ON PEOPLE OF AFRICAN DESCENT AT THE UNITED NATIONS
November 24, 2020 I published Oligarchy: The Spiritual and International Legal Wars Against the Balanta
April 6, 2021 I published CLARIFYING THE POLITICAL AND LEGAL STATUS OF 1,108 GENERATIONS OF MY FAMILY
May/June 2021, by this time I had sharpened my understanding of my history and launched the Decade of Return Initiative in Guinea Bissau. Group 2 included Balanta descendants and BBHAGSIA Members Kamm Howard and Robin Rue Simmons. During their visit, we met with the Minister of Tourism, the Minister of Culture, and the Minister of Sports and other government and military officials and voiced our request for citizenship based on our birthright and right of return under the Geneva Convention as dna-tested Balanta descendants.
Shortly after their visit, on September 23, 2021 I published Lessons From Amilcar Cabral and Siphiwe Baleka: The Dum Diversas War and the Incomplete Independence of Guinea Bissau.
October 13, 2021 - I published MOTION TO THE AFRICAN UNION EXECUTIVE COUNCIL 39th EXTRAORDINARY SESSION DRAFTED BY BBHAGSIA PRESIDENT AND SUBMITTED TO THE AU ECOSOCC SECRETARIAT THROUGH THE ZAMBIAN MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
January 31, 2022 - I published TOWARDS A RIGHT TO RETURN & CITIZENSHIP POLICY FOR DESCENDENTS OF PEOPLE TAKEN FROM TERRITORIES IN AFRICA DURING THE TRANSATLANTIC TRAFFICKING AND ENSLAVEMENT OF AFRICAN PEOPLE: CASE STUDY GUINEA BISSAU
July 18, 2022 - Balanta Descendants and BBHAGSIA members Robin Rue Simmons and Kamm Howard travel to the Vatican. Kamm Howard delivered the PRESENTMENT TO THE HOLY SEE IN FURTHERANCE OF REPARATIONS to Bishop Paul Tighe, Secretary of the Pontifical Council of Culture. The PRESENTMENT details the historical record that affirms that the Roman Catholic Church santioned, through the use of Apostolic edicts known as “Papal Bulls”, the destruction of African kingdoms, the plunder of African wealth, and resources, total war on African people, and the perpetual enslavemenent of Africans and their descendants. “These Bulls and others”, states the PRESENTMENT, “provided the justification for the trafficking and enslavement of Black African human beings, as well as European imperialism and colonization in Africa—all in the name of Jesus Christ.'‘
The document concludes by stating,
“COMPELLED BY INTERNATIONAL LAW, CUSTOMS, AND NORMS REGARDING REDRESS FOR TOTAL WAR, WAR CRIMES, AND CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY, AND ENCOURAGED BY THE WORDS AND SPIRIT OF THE ENCYCLICAL FRATELLI TUTTI, IN WHICH POPE FRANCIS CALLS FOR A DEEPENED SENSE OF OUR SHARED HUMANITY, WE SEEK FULL REPARATIONS AND HEALING FOR PEOPLE OF AFRICAN ANCESTRY…. CONSEQUENTLY, FROM ALL THE ABOVE, THE HOLY ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH HAS A PROFOUND MORAL AND LEGAL OBLIGATION OF FULL REPARATIONS.”
It is the legal obligation stemming from Pope Nicholas V’s Dum Diversas declaration of total war against African people that BBHAGSIA President Siphiwe Baleka has been emphasizing in various international forums and working committees directed at members of the African Union and especially to the Republic of Guinea Bissau. The legal argument was laid out in September 2021 in Lessons From Amilcar Cabral and Siphiwe Baleka: The Dum Diversas War and the Incomplete Independence of Guinea Bissau and January 2022 in TOWARDS A RIGHT TO RETURN & CITIZENSHIP POLICY FOR DESCENDENTS OF PEOPLE TAKEN FROM TERRITORIES IN AFRICA DURING THE TRANSATLANTIC TRAFFICKING AND ENSLAVEMENT OF AFRICAN PEOPLE: CASE STUDY GUINEA BISSAU which was a source document for the PRESENTMENT.
December 19, 2022 - I published Strategic Reparations Litigation: Transgenerational Epigenetic Effects, Ethnocide and Prisoner of War Claims - A Look at Cases Against France and the United States
January 3, 2023 - Permanent Forum on People of African Descent President Epsy Cambpell Bar Request to Pope Francis for the Catholic Church to seek forgiveness, reparation and reconciliation with peoples of African Descent in America and the Caribbean towards the path of Human Fraternity. Bar’s Request noted that “Kamm Howard, Director of Reparations United . . . made a presentation describing the active role of the Catholic Church in relation to the Transatlantic Slave Trade and the institution of slavery, as well as discussing the reparative actions that are necessary to address the damages caused. The following was stated: "The Catholic Church has admitted that it played a role in the Transatlantic Slave Trade, and the purpose of our meeting was to provide a roadmap that will allow us to move toward true restorative justice. The focus will now be on ongoing conversations to move the work forward and ensure that reparations become a reality."
March 5, 2023 - I published TAKING THE AFRO DESCENDANTS CASE TO THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE: A PEOPLES' MANDATE ISSUED TO THE PERMANENT FORUM ON PEOPLE OF AFRICAN DESCENT
March 30, 2023 - on Thursday, March 30, 2023 the Vatican’s development and education office said the theory of the “Doctrine of Discovery” – which still informs government policies and laws today – was not part of the Catholic Church’s teachings. The most problematic part of the statement declared,
“The legal concept of “discovery” was debated by colonial powers from the sixteenth century onward and found particular expression in the nineteenth century jurisprudence of courts in several countries, according to which the discovery of lands by settlers granted an exclusive right to extinguish, either by purchase or conquest, the title to or possession of those lands by indigenous peoples. Certain scholars have argued that the basis of the aforementioned “doctrine” is to be found in several papal documents, such as the Bulls Dum Diversas (1452), Romanus Pontifex (1455) and Inter Caetera (1493). 6. The “doctrine of discovery” is not part of the teaching of the Catholic Church. Historical research clearly demonstrates that the papal documents in question, written in a specific historical period and linked to political questions, have never been considered expressions of the Catholic faith.”
In response, the following day I published DON'T BE FOOLED! THE VATICAN'S STATEMENT ON THE DOCTRINE OF DISCOVERY IS WORDPLAY!
13 April 2023 - The International Court of Justice authorizes the African Union to participate in the proceedings concerning the Request for an Advisory Opinion on the Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.
14 April 2023 - H.E. Mr. Bankole Adeoye, African Union Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, paid a visit to the International Court of Justice at its seat, the Peace Palace, in The Hague. Mr. Adeoye, accompanied by a delegation, met with H.E. Judge Joan E. Donoghue, President of the Court, H.E. Mr. Jean-Pelé Fomété, the Court’s Deputy-Registrar, and members of its Registry. Topics discussed included the African Union’s participation in advisory proceedings and the role the Union can play in cases before the Court involving African States.
26 April 2023 - Human Rights and Justice with host Nkechi Taifa: Episode 34 - "Reparations Utilizing International Instruments with Siphiwe Balenta"
28 April 2023 - I presented AMILCAR CABRAL AND THE RETURN OF PRISONERS OF WAR ENSLAVED IN THE AMERICAS: CRITICAL IMPORTANCE OF BALANCING ETHNIC IDENTITY AND NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS DURING THE DECADE OF RETURN INITIATIVE IN GUINEA BISSAU at the Amilcar Cabral International Congress in Lisbon, Portugal.
25 May 2023 - I helped Illinois Representative Carol Ammons draft HR 292 ILLINOIS PASSES HR292 RESOLUTION TO PROVIDE DNA TESTING AND REPARATIONS FOR VOLUNTARY REPATRIATION TO ANCESTRAL HOMELANDS IN AFRICA - HIGHLIGHTS BALANTAS FROM AMERICA
27 May 2023 - As part of the 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐖𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐄𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 sponsored by the NCOBRA Health Commission and the NCOBRA Education commission, I presented The Unfinished Business of Malcolm X and Imari Obadele: Taking Our Claim to the International Court of Justice
30 May 2023 - I made my STATEMENT TO THE 2ND SESSION OF PFPAD: MANDATE TO REQUEST AN ADVISORY OPINION FROM THE ICJ
2 June 2023 - I published AN OPEN LETTER TO EPSY CAMPBELL BARR IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE CLOSE OF THE 2ND SESSION OF THE PERMANENT FORUM ON PEOPLE OF AFRICAN DESCENT
8 June 2023 - I conducted the 1st Meeting of the Lineage Restoration Council of Guinea Bissau
10 June 2023 - I published Direct and Certain Causal Nexus: Reparatory Justice for Quantifiable Harms and The Importance of the PFPAD Mandate to Request an Advisory Opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ)
19 June 2023 - for the Juneteenth National Reparations Virtual Teach in hosted by Krystal Muhammad of the New Black Panther Party, I presented JUNETEENTH: THE LINCOLN ADMINISTRATION'S RECOGNITION OF NEW AFRIKAN RIGHTS UNDER NATURAL AND INTERNATIONAL LAW, THE 14TH AMENDMENT FRAUD & THE UNFINISHED BUSINESS OF MALCOLM X AND IMARI OBADELE
11 July 2023 - The Inter American Commission for Human Rights (IAHCR) dismissed my landmark ethnocide petition. READ THE PETITION CHARGING THE UNITED STATES WITH ETHNOCIDE THAT WAS DISMISSED BY THE INTER AMERICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS
16 July 2023 - Thieves enter my house and steal only laptops - “Petty Theft” or “Special Op”? Office of Reparations Activist Burglarised, Laptops Stolen
21 July 2023 - I attended the meeting of the U.S. State Department to address the ICCPR July 12 Civil Society Consultation regarding the United States’ upcoming presentation to the Committee on the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Optional Protocols.
25 July 2023 - PFPAD President Epsy Campbell Barr’s Official Response to the Mandate Requesting an ICJ Advisory Opinion.
28 July 2023 - Tanya, Susana & the Djola (aka Felupe) Essangai: A Story for the Lineage Restoration Council of Guinea Bissau
2 September 2023 - Siphiwe Baleka, President of the Guinea Bissau Swimming Federation meets with the new Minister of Justice and Human Rights, Mr. Albino Gomes
7 September 2023 - Decade of Return to Guinea Bissau Coordinator Siphiwe Baleka meets with the New Minister of Tourism, Faustino Mamadu Saliu Jaló
7 September 2023 - Nkechi Taifa's Human Rights and Justice Podcast: Episode 52 Featuring Siphiwe Baleka
19 September 2023 - BBHAGSIA President Siphiwe Baleka Presents at the Future Black America Conference
17 October 2023 - United States Confronted About State-Sanctioned Ethnocide Against Balanta People at the United Nations
15 November - WHO IS AN AFRICAN EXPERT ON REPARATIONS?
17 November 2023 - Balanta Society Report from the Accra Reparations Conference, November 14-17, 2023
22 November 2023 - Input on the Request for an Advisory Opinion from the International Court of Justice on the Status of Afro Descendants Under the Geneva Convention
28 November - STOP CALLING IT A SLAVE TRADE: YOUR ANCESTORS WERE PRISONERS OF WAR! NKECHI TAIFA REFLECTS ON THE TEACHINGS OF IMARI OBADELE
30 December 2023 - Plebiscite Workshop at the New Afrikan People's Convention, December 30, 2023
4 January 2024 - A Matter of War: Imari Obadele, Our Enslavement in the 13 Colonies and the United States, the Republic of New Afrika and Reparations
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Sometimes, you just do your work and the Ancestors will take care of the rest. From my perspective, the extent and direct influence of my work on global developments may never be known, but I can safely say that things I set out to achieve, to use the Dum Diversas declaration of total war as the framework for discussing reparatory justice for the period of European trafficking, enslavement and ethnocide is becoming a reality. Further, to fulfill the work of Malcolm X, Imari and Gaidi Obadele to bring the United States before the World Court is also moving forward. Finally, to get the African Union involved in our reparatory justice efforts is also happening. I have been theorizing and strategizing this since 1997 when Dr. Y.N. Kly gave me an assignment to study the UN 1503 Procedure and the Rastafari Community gave me a mandate to settle repatriation and immigration issues on behalf of their members living on the Shashemane, Ethiopia land grant back in 2003. Here I am twenty years later trying to negotiate this for all Afro Descendants once and for all in our lifetime. I am confident that both PFPAD and the AU will play its role and advocate for our right to return under the Geneva Convention and that the ICJ will issue an advisory opinion substantiating this.
Dr. Y.N. Kly and Dr. Imari Obadele