Balanta Society Report from the Accra Reparations Conference, November 14-17, 2023

Balanta B’urassa History and Genealogy Society in America President Siphiwe Baleka addressing the Accra Reparations Conference.

As a service to my people and for the sake of full disclosure, let me start this story from the beginning. I am taking the long journey so that everyone can understand the various nuances that took place during the Accra Reparations Conference. My participation involves a substantial backstory. . . .

Dr. Beryl Biekman invited me to commemorate the 20 Year Anniversary of the Article 3q Amendment that officially “invite(s) and encourage(s) the full participation of Africans in the Diaspora in the building of the African Union in its capacity as an important part of our Continent.” I was the only “African American” present when the article was passed at the African Union in February 2003 and finalized on July 11, 2003 in Maputo. Dr. Biekman wanted to make July 11 “Africa Diaspora Day” at the African Union. I was fortunate enough to be on the panel with Dr. Eric Phillips, Chairman, Guyana Reparations Committee and one of the CARICOM Reparations Commission (CRC) three Vice-Chairs, entitled, VISION STATEMENTS ON THE GLOBAL CASE FOR REPARATORY JUSTICE: LEGAL STRUCTURES, MECHANISMS, INSTRUMENTS & MODALITIES. Unfortunately, Mr. Dorbrene O’Marde, Chairman for the Antigua and Barbuda Reparation Support Commission and another Vice-Chair of the CRC led by Sir Hilary Beckles, was unable to join the panel. After the panel, I made the following recommendations:

It was during this time that I learned about the upcommoning CONTINTENTAL STUDY TOUR ON REPARATIONS AND HEALING TO THE CARIBBEAN to be hosted by the REPUBLIC OF BARBADOS, 24th – 29th JULY 2023. According to the event’s Concept Note,

“The high-level study tour will bring together Ambassadors and representatives from selected Member States of the African Union, Pan-African academics, advocates, practitioners and campaigners in Africa, who have worked on or are working on issues related to reparations, healing and Pan-Africanism. The aim of the study tour is to bring together voices and perspectives of the African political and civil society leadership to draw lessons and learnings from their Caribbean counterparts on how to develop a unified front on reparations for historical crimes. . . . This study tour will offer an opportunity for political leaders and actors in the African continent to share and learn about the “hows” of advancing a collective agenda in the political and civil society spaces. . . .A group of distinguished experts in the field of reparations and healing from Africa and the Caribbean will come together to facilitate a series of actionable dialogues on key themes related to the reparations movement.”

Seeing a great opportunity for Pan African collaboration in the spirit of Ubuntu, and knowing my expertise on the issues of Afro Descendants’ Right to Return, Citizenship, and the business of internal reparations and healing the transgenerational epigenetic effects of chattel enslavement and ethnocide, I felt it my duty to attend the Study Tour. Towards that end, I sent the following letter to Dr. Justice Alfred Mavedzenge, PhD Constitutional law (UCT) | LLM Constitutional & Admin law (UCT) |LLB (UNISA) |BA (MSU) Senior Legal Advisor/Programs Director for Africa Judges and Jurists Forum (AJJF):

Justice Alfred Mavedzenge replied,

“We have to follow protocol my brother. This is an AU Study tour and i cannot make those decisions without the organisers. Unfortunately the organisers from the AU are on flights at the moment and i cannot reach them. . . . Its going to be difficult to do the logistics to bring you to Barbados because all of the organisers are now travelling and they are no longer available to process those logistics. Lets keep in touch and make sure you participate in the next activities brother.”

On August 9, I messaged Justice Alfred Mavedzenge and we had the following exchange: ,

Me: Nsumna. Greetings Justice Alfred. As per your instruction, “Lets keep in touch and make sure you participate in the next activities" can you forward to me the information on how I can participate in the next event in Accra in October? Thank you in advance. 🙏🏾 Additionally, I'm still trying to get information on any of the discussion in Barbados concerning an Advisory Opinion from the ICJ. I'm about to publish another article on this.

Justice Alfred Mavedzenge: Greetings Nsumna. Sorry i missed your call. Its almost midnight here. We are not involved in the Accra event my brother. About the study tour, we do not have the report yet. It is being drafted and it should be ready by first week of September. I do not have any information about the Advisory opinion. I am also not sure if there is any Opinion. What i heard people discussing in Barbados is the possibility of applying for one.

Me: Nsumna. Greetings again. Ok, Thank you. No, there is no Advisory Opinion, but a Request is being made through the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent (PFPAD). Epsy Campbell Bar has responded to me, author of the Request and the exact questions to be answered, directly. You can see her letter of response by clicking the link. My concern is that if the Barbados group initiates a separate request for an Adivsory Opinion, it may have negative consequences, especially if the right questions are not asked. The ICJ may not appreciate multiple requests on essentially the same subject with different questions. Anyway, this is why I am trying to connect with people from the Barbados event. Please forward to me the contact for the next Study Tour event, which I was told was to be held in Accra, in October. From who can I get information?

Justice Alfred Mavedzenge: Indeed, the problem is exactly what you mentioned of multiple resquests and lack of channels to share information across the board. I am not sure who exactly is organising the Accra event but i know that its being organised by the Ghana govt. If you have a contact in Ghana they will let you know. Otherwise if i find the contact i will also share with you.

Me: This is the event in Ghana? But it’s not connected to the Study Tour? I’m a little confused…. https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/slave-trade-reparations-au-approves-ghana-conference.html

Justice Alfred Mavedzenge: the Study tour and the Accra event are two different things organised by two different groups Chief. Thats why i have no knowledge of the Accra event bro. The Accra event is being done by the Govt of Ghana while th Barbados study tour was organised by civil society but for AU Ambassadors

Me: My apologies for the nuisance. 😂Yes. This is my source of confusion. So what is the next Study Tour event? This is what I am trying to find out. 🙏🏾

Justice Alfred Mavedzenge: No worries brother. The reparations movement is fragmented and that is the problem

Meanwhile, on August 11, I had the following exchange with Hilary Brown, Programme Manager Culture & Community Development · CARICOM Secretariat:

Me: Greetings Dr. Hilary Brown. I am Siphiwe Baleka and Dr. Baryl Biekman suggested I contact you to talk about a very serious Global Afrikan Reparatory Justice strategy - requesting an Advisory Opinion from the ICJ. I came up with the strategy to use the mandate for the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent to pursue this. Here is the orignal mandate, signed by 248 African and African Diasporans, that was sent to Ms. Epsy Campbell Barr. I was not invited to the Study Tour in Barbados, but I attempted to come anyway, following the recommendations to the PAN AFRICAN ROOTS-SYNERGY MAPUTO ROUNDTABLE (PARSMR) panel 𝑽𝑰𝑺𝑰𝑶𝑵 𝑺𝑻𝑨𝑻𝑬𝑴𝑬𝑵𝑻𝑺 𝑶𝑵 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑮𝑳𝑶𝑩𝑨𝑳 𝑪𝑨𝑺𝑬 𝑭𝑶𝑹 𝑹𝑬𝑷𝑨𝑹𝑨𝑻𝑶𝑹𝒀 𝑱𝑼𝑺𝑻𝑰𝑪𝑬: 𝑳𝑬𝑮𝑨𝑳 𝑺𝑻𝑹𝑼𝑪𝑻𝑼𝑹𝑬𝑺, 𝑴𝑬𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑵𝑰𝑺𝑴𝑺, 𝑰𝑵𝑺𝑻𝑹𝑼𝑴𝑬𝑵𝑻𝑺 & 𝑴𝑶𝑫𝑨𝑳𝑰𝑻𝑰𝑬𝑺. I did submit these recommendations to present to the Study Tour to Justice Alfred Mavedzenge, Eric Phillips and David Commissiong. Dr. Biekman indicated that you would be willing to listen to a discussion of the PFPAD Request for an ICJ Advisory Opinion. My concern is that if the Barbados group initiates a separate request for an Adivsory Opinion, it may have negative consequences, especially if the right questions are not asked. The ICJ may not appreciate multiple requests on essentially the same subject with different questions. 𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞. 𝐈'𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐎𝐌 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬.

Hilary Brown: Greetings Siphiwe. Thank you for making contact and sending all this material. After I’ve finished reviewing, I will send my feedback. Thanks for your patience.

Unfortunately, I did not hear back from Ms. Brown. However, by September 17, Dr. Biekman, Dr. Eric Phillips and I began working on the draft for the Dutch Apology in Legislation. Here is the draft that I submitted which became the base for the final draft:

It was during this period that Dr. Eric Phillips became familiar with my work on the Dum Diversas declaration of total war and the prisoner-of-war suffering chattel enslavement and ethnocide legal strategy that I was advancing at the Inter American Commssion on Human Rights (IACHR). the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent, and, most recently, at the fifth periodic review of the United States under the International Covenenat on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

So, thinking that Dr. Phillips was my ally in CARICOM, I was surprised when out of nowhere he became the most vocal critic and our debates in various WhatsApp group spilled over into an email thread with over 250 stakeholders. It wasn’t until my first conversation with Mr. Dorbrene O’Marde that I understood that he was behind Dr. Phillips’ about face! Here is an excerpt of the email thread exchange/debate on the eve of the Accra Reparations Conference answereing some of Dr. Phillips points:

Me: “My good comrade Eric,

At least now we are discussing some of the important strategies. So let me address some of your statements.

1. "you seem to believe that because you are not invited to a meeting between CARICOM and the Africa Union, that they have colonized minds etc ......." The Conference was not advertised as a meeting between CARICOM and the AFRICAN UNION. According to the public announcement, 

"The Accra Reparations Conference, being co-organized by the Republic of Ghana and the African Union Commission, seeks to promote dialogue, knowledge sharing and actionable strategies among diverse and relevant stakeholders. . . .The Accra Reparations Conference, building on previous and present efforts in favour of reparation intends to build an all-African peoples unified front for the advancement of the cause of reparatory justice. That front endorsed by the African Union, with the strategic support of CARICOM and various stakeholders in the United States of America and in Europe will constitute the first ever African Committee of Experts on reparations. The Committee, drawn from relevant fields including law, will be established for the purpose of developing a Common African Position on Reparations and incorporate therein, an African Reparatory Programme of Action. . . . The conference will convene political leaders from the African continent and the Caribbean region, policymakers at the global, continental, regional and national levels, academics and scholars, civil society actors and relevant stakeholders from around the continent 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒍𝒐𝒃𝒂𝒍 𝑨𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝑫𝒊𝒂𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒂 for substantive deliberations, the sharing of best practices, and the development of actionable strategies to promote and advance a continental initiative for reparatory justice."  

So you must correct yourself and stop making it seem like this is a private CARICOM/AU meeting. Secondly, I am invited. Attached is my invitation letter. Thirdly, the Resolution on Africa’s Reparations Agenda and The Human Rights of Africans In the Diaspora and People of African Descent Worldwide - ACHPR/Res.543 (LXXIII) 2022 - Dec 12, 2022

"Calls upon member states to: . . . take measures to eliminate barriers to acquisition of citizenship and identity documentation by Africans in the diaspora; to establish a committee to consult, seek the truth, and conceptualize reparations from Africa’s perspective, describe the harm occasioned by the tragedies of the past, establish a case for reparations (or Africa’s claim), and pursue justice for the trade and trafficking in enslaved Africans, colonialism and colonial crimes, and racial segregation and contribute to non-recurrence and reconciliation of the past;, . . . 4. Encourages civil society and academia in Africa, to embrace and pursue the task of conceptualizing Africa’s reparations agenda with urgency and determination.” 


If it was necessary to call for the conceptualizing of an African reparations agenda, it meant that the current one was insufficiently African....  It is because some are still using the colonial narratives and frameworks while pushing back against "Africa's claim" and the new narrative(s) that conceptualize Africa's reparations from Africa's perspective - one long rooted in African indigenous law related to the treatment of prisoners of war - is why I am suggesting that some still have colonized minds. 

2.  "Your view of approaching the ICJ with a "prisoner-of-war" strategy that has no historical or literature heritage (Durban, DDPA, even the PFPAD which is a derivative of Durban") is questionable from a practical point of view. " -  First, it is not "my" view. It is a view shared by many, including the 248 activists, professors and lawyers who are signatory to the Request for the ICJ Opinion. Second, it is based on history and literature as well as documented slave voyage data. Did you think I made up the narrative out of thin air? Perhaps you might think otherwise if you read Prof Hilary Beckles' speech “The Age of Terror: Europe and the Trade in Africans in West Africa,” given 3-2-2023. Professor Beckles repeatedly states, 

"We also know that this military engagement in Africa began as a search for gold. And shifting from gold trade to the kidnapping of enchained labor. That was the enormity of this military complex that was unleashed upon the indigenous people of Africa . . . In Europe the royal families were the principle investors in these military operations. . . . The British Royal African Country had the full might of the British army and navy behind them. No West African government had the military capacity to withstand the military onslaught of these companies. These companies built forts along the coast of West Africa from Senne Gambia to Congo. . . . These corporations, and I have to emphasize this for people who have not been effectively exposed, there is a belief which you will find from observing movies and Hollywood type images, that slave traders were just a group of random individuals who took a small ships went out and randomly grabbed people and took them down the river and put them on a boat. You are looking at the most highly organized commercial military complex at this time. These corporations had dozens and dozens of ships, and thousands of soldiers in West africa on the coast to protect the storage and the shipment. They were Highly militarized with the latest military technology with the guns and the cannons and they were able to penetrate deeply into Africa with this military capacity. The Wealth that they accumulated, which was in the first instance the monopoly wealth of the royal families, eventually tricked down to the private sector, when they were given free access and down to the banks. The Bank of England was established in 1694 to help to finance the slave trade. All of the wealth coming back into England, going to the royal family and aristocracies that money had to be converted into investment capital . And so the Bank Of England was created . . . ."

So, I think you should defer both to me and Professor Beckles - the prisoner-of-war narrative is well documented in history and well understood by those of us who have taken up the mandateof conceptualizing Africa’s reparations agenda with urgency and determination.Professor Beckles correctly identified the military nature of the enterprise, but he fell short of providing the complete narrative of naming the war - the declared Dum Diversas War - to properly frame the military action. Once we do that - and teach the world that we are victims of warfare, not trade, then we will have a true and firm basis for our agenda. Imagine trying to talk about World War I and World War II as the "Era of European Resource Adjustment" or some other innocuous name......

From a practical point of view, it was already stated at the 2nd Seesion of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent that the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) as well as the ICJ are inadequete for adjudicating reparatory justice claims concerning the enslavement of African people and subsequent violations of their human rights, including crimes of genocide and ethnocide. Thus, practicaly, it doesn't make sense to enter a claim in those arenas. However, preliminary to such claims, however, would be requesting an advisory opinion in which the court would answer the fundamental questions which would determine the case. This is the reason why requesting the advisory opinion from the ICJ on the set of questions pertaining to status as prisoners of war is the correct move at this time. That's the nature of precedent - there must be a "first time".....

3. "it was African tribes who fought other African tribes...to obtain "prisoners-of-war" ......albeit, they were incentivised by colonisers...."   And this is the strength of the Dum Diversas-prsioner-of-war-ethnocide narrative. Reparations are for the victims of that warfare. As victims, we determine what responsibilities each party has. There is no escape for Europeans for their role simply because some Africans entered the war in complicity with the Europeans. That is not a contradiction nor a conceptual problem. We are not children here saying, “well, he did it, too!" as if people can't look at what happened and see who did what. When you are caught with your hand in the cookie jar, there is no legal defence recognized as, “But he did it, too so why am I being punished?”  We identify who captured and sold us - period. The Africans involved are guilty for what they did and the Europeans involved are guilty for what they did. The Africans owe us recognition of our right to return and the Europeans owe us the wealth derived from our ancestors labor as well as damages for the crime of Ethnocide. Africans did not commit Ethnocide against us. Africans did not subject us to chattel enslavement. But Africans were involved in capturing us as prisoners of war. Shouldn’t they also atone and pay reparations in the form of granting citizenship and assisting in our reintegration? Is that what Article 3q of the AU Constitution is all about?

More importantly, however, is that there is substantial body of African law pertaining to prisoners-of-war prior to the European invasion. From this body of African law comes our position that, according to African law, chattel enslavement and ethnocide were illegal at the time. This is important because current international law demands that where there is a conflict of laws/legal system, it is the legal system of the jurisdiction where the crime was committed that must govern adjudication. Thus, IT WAS ILLEGAL. Professor Beckles paper addresses this: 

"The chattel slave was not an African product. One of the characteristics of European History has been this notion that slavery existed everywhere and therefore there was nothing new in what they were engaged in and this was one of the first mythology and lies and deception imbedded in European History. The word Slavery was used historically in the most loose and elastic fashion to include all relationships in which individuals experience some reduction in your freedom. Institution of marriage, the female experience some reduction of freedom through resources, control of them, naming and control of children. This is imbedded in most systems of the world historically. This was seen as the shallow end. Then there was a question of What do you do with prisoners of wars, you go to war you have prisoners you have a choice, You can execute them as losers or bring them home and integrate them into your community but now they are now working on behalf of the state, chief or family. But these people had rights. They had rights to live in the community, rights to resources, rights to their own family, to get married, they could become high officers in the families in the royalty. . . . None of that was significant in the context of what the Europeans wanted. The Europeans invented a new category of slavery that had never been seen on planet earth before. No culture of civilization had ever created this thing called chattel slavery. Have never been found before. It was something specifically created to enslave the African and bring him across the Atlantic to slavery in the Americas. That moment in history. How do I establish the authenticity of that statement? What chattel slavery was? This is something that seems to have erupted from the depth of hell. Never seen before. First, A Chattel slave under law is not a human being. In no system of labor,in no system of domestic usage, in no system of family usage, in no system in which the word slavery was used before were those people denied their human identity –all of these people who were classified as slaves loosely were seen as heroic people were people who had status in their families. They performed domestic work, they performed agricultural work, they were married they had their children, many became ambassadors of the kings to go and do things on behalf of the king, they were just servants. In chattel slavery The African was not a human being, the African was property. The so called domestic slave in Africa was not Property, they were human beings whose identity was respected."

Here, Professor Beckles establishes the connection between the prisoners of war, identity and Chattel slavery resulting in ethnocide in European law. And herein lies the superiority of the strategy I am presenting: it allows African nations to tell the FULL TRUTH OF WHAT HAPPENED. It allows African nations to understand that some Africans were complicit in capturing prisoner of war and transferring them into European jurisdictions. Thus, the responsibility of AFRICANS is recognizing our "Right to Return" to African jurisdictions/territories - i.e. our ancestral homelands. This principle is already established in law and most famously in the 1841 Amistad case. Thus, what we the victims are asking is for citizenship and reintegration programs from African states. Now, when African states grant us citizenship and integration programs, which is the full spirit of the Article 3q Amendment to the AU Constitution, then African can take the moral and legal high ground by saying, "we have fulfilled our responsibility towards reparations for our role in the 'slave trade', now it is time for Europe to do the same and take responsibility for its role." THAT IS THE ONLY PATH TOWARDS TRUE AND FULL REPARATIONS and Africa must lead the way first!  

4. "Individuals have no legal standing in international courts" - duh! But prisoners of war have standing under the Geneva Convention and peoples have standing under the ICCPR. It is only for the states protecting them to invoke them. Why hasn't CARICOM or the AU invoked the rights of all those peoples/ethnic groups that suffered ethnocide in Guyana and Surinam? You know, all those PEOPLES we named in the Dutch Apology Draft Legislation? If you think my strategy is trying to get individuals to the ICJ, then you have fundamentally misunderstood what we are doing.

5. "The point I am making is that your personal quest seems to be overshadowing the broader practical approach to reparations." - please let this be the last time you express such a foolish opinion. The number of letters of recommendation, support, and signatories to the Request for the ICJ, let alone the private financial backing supporters have donated is ample proof that I am a true representative of the people speaking truth to power and not someone on a personal quest or seeking glory. You create disharmony and disunity among my many supporters in the reparations movement by attempting to suggest that this effort is personal rather than the historical imperative of the moment and the duty owed to our ancestors. There has always been disunity in our movement, long before me, and I am speaking up for the people who seem to be left out of a lot of important meetings that are doing things in the name of reparations that aren't really reparations.

Really, given the public announcement of the goals and outcomes for the meeting, whether you agree with the prisoner of war strategy or not, don't you think its leading proponent should be given a platform to present it? If I truly am the "superior intellect" in the room as you once put it, why wouldn't the AU and CARICOM want me there to contribute? Fortunately, I have been invited. Unfortunately, the conference is requiring that I self -fund my participation while those with salaries and employment from neocolonial institutions are having their travel and accommodations provided. 

Siphiwe

Dr. Phillips: ‘My good comrade

Sir Hilary is one of the architects of Caricom's 10 point plan, which you are trashing.....although you have quoted him of the Age of Terrorism speech which I attended.....and which he would have incorporated in his thinking about the 10 point plan....the possible legal versus diplomatic versus political solutions

You need to understand the practical realities of the world we live in....   this implies understanding the forces we are dealing with in the ICJ and Europe and agree on what is possible what is achievable.....this is often very different from the academic purity we use in understanding the various possibilities of redress....including your prisoner of war approach from Dum Diversas which is an ecclesical pronouncement.....so unless the Cathloic Church was the government of all European states..we have another complexity.

Look forward to seeing you on Accra....and I hope we take lessons from the Gaza War and Covid 19 into our understanding of appropriate strategies

Eric”

Me: “Greetings Eric,

Of course I know Professor Beckles is an architect of CARICOM's 10 point plan. Apparently, from his recent speech, his understanding has advanced and we are uplifting that part of it while providing constructive criticism where needed. So do not say we are trashing CARICOM's 10 Point Plan. I and many others just aren't satisfied with it. I agree - there are possible legal versus diplomatic versus political solutions .... We are advocating a particular legal and diplomatic solution. Are we not welcome in the arena? Do not be so condescending to suggest that I don't understand the practical issues of the world we live in. Perhaps you need to understand the value of uncompromised voices who speak truth to power. Such voices are necessary. But mind you, I have a diplomatic track record with some successes, so I am not as naive as you may suggest. Since the conference requires that I self-fund my participation while it pays the expenses of those who already have salaries and resources from colonial and neo-colonial institutions and governments, it is still a question whether or not I will make it as a people's representative to Accra. Again, part of the realities of the neocolonial world and system we live in is that those with salaries and government positions are sponsored and those without, those who sacrificed such things in order to stand with the people without contradiction .... Well, we must find our own way..... Ancestors willing, I will see you there my friend. Here's to a worthy debate!

Siphiwe”

Kamm Howard “Good discussion. 

I see this in a different although companion view of what is being largely expressed here. What we are witnessing in the current global reparations movement is a form of elite capture. Officially elite capture in a form of "curruption" where elites siphon off public resources for the benefit of the few. 

I this regard, we see governments and elite orgs co-opting the challenges and cause of reparations that has historically been a grassroots movement. When the Durban World Conference was held, it was a call by civil society, in particular in  1996  the New York based Atty. Roger Wareham of the December 12 Movement (New York, USA) shares his vision of a world conference against racism with Jabril Adelbagi of Sudan,  a high-ranking diplomat at the United Nations, Geneva Switzerland. 1997 UN General Assembly announces there would be a 2001 World Conference Against Racism (WCAR), one year after Roger’s and Jabril’s conversation.

This officially brought states into the reparations discussion in one swoop. Not all were on board and many had to be pursuaded in Durban. The outcome was the Durban Declaration and Program of Action. The Caribean States were the first to move as a block with the DDPA. Although Brazil and Zimbawe were the two states that did the most immediately coming out of Durban. (This led to the illegal conviction of DiSiva and the sanctions by the West on Zimbawe. Although DeSilva has returned to power- less-radical however,  the sanctions still remain on Zimbawe). Civil society elsewhere, were still the driving forces on the reparations question. 

Fast foward to the creation of the Permanent Forum and the Accra Summit of 2022. Two initiatives were put forth by civil society that have been captured by the PFPAD -

1) Reparations Presentment to the Vatican to engage in discussions on reparations for inaugurating the TrransAtlanctic Chattelization Wars (as described by Prof. Chinwiezu - who also gave us the concept of internal reparations) After being informed, the Pres of PFPAD sent a letter to the Pope indicating the work of Global Circle for Reparations and Healing thar delivered the Reparations Presentment to the Pope, requesting private conversations. The PFPAD as a body was unaware of this letter nor was the GCRH or any civil society org brought into the discussions or shared with any outcomes. 

2) The ICJ opinion on the status of Afro-descendants being prisoners of war. This was raised at PFPAD 1 and as we all know a pettition for adooption was presented a PFPAD 2. What occurred was the capture of this idea by those who have state power to be utilized only for state reparations CARICOM nations.  

The Accra Summit. The 2023 Accra Summit is the result of the 2022 Accra Summit that was held by Civil Society - in particular the group of orgs that were funded by MacArthur that later became the Global Circle for Reparations and Healing. (The group that with the help of Siphiwe, authored and delivered the Reparations Presentment to Vatican) Accra 2023 is governments and the AU. They list CARICOM as participants, not the CARICOM Reparations Commission CRC,  as they would have to invited the National African American Reparations Commission. However, NAARC, unlike CAR, is civil society. The GCRH were not involved in the planning of Accra 2023 and were just recently invited - as they wanted financial contributions for our participation, which we do not have. Yet they are basing the conference on the work and outcome documents of 2022 Accra Summit, while calling the 2023 Accra Summit an inaugural conference. 

German "Aide" to Namibia A more glaring example of elite capture in its full sense is what is taking place in Namibia. It has been the Ovaherro people (the orgs fighting on their behalf) who have been fighting for reparations for decades from the genocide and land theft of their people from the German government. Because of this fight, the German government pledge $1.1B for development projects over 30 years to "begin the healing".. This was not to the Ovaherro people, was not a return of land, was not financial  reparations. But aide to the government, who is not directing it specifically to the repair of the the genocide of the Ovaherro people or the return of their land.  It is for development projects for Namibia were the Ovaherro people are a minority ethnic group in Namibia. This is criminal. 

As civil society orgs who have led this fight for centuries, we must demand that African states and formal bodies include of in every step and take direction from us. This is one more the internal struggle that we are facing. . . . .

Bro Eric, with all due respect, I have tremendous respect for member states of the CARICOM Reparations Commission and those who sit on that body coming from their respective governments. I simply stated that CRC is supra-governmental body. No judgement what-so-ever. As a Commissioner of the National African American Reparations Commission, we have taken great instruction from the work of CRC. (I have no idea how you came up with an assessment that I was intimating that CRC were "political hacks!")

I am offering constructive critique in hope of changing course before more damage is done. It is factual that very significant actions, introduced by civil society are being moved forward by state players without collaboration with the civil society entities that introduced the actions 

This is not good for the movement. I gave 4 global examples without attacking anyone. (Yes, I named a person but no attack) And the Barbados conference was first shared in Atlanta at the Decolonizing Wealth Conference. Prior to this Barbados conference, at PFPAD 1, it was announced that a joint lawyer/civil society body would be created to address some of the legal issues in the movement - the ICJ opinion request sparked that announcement. However, in Barbados, civil society was left out. I raised this in Atlanta as the planning for Barbados was being initiated and got no response. 

We can and must do better in our collaboration. No one knows this better than our brothers and sisters in Namibia. The Accra conference should at a minimum leave with a governmental consensus  to the Nambian government to give the Ovaherero people their reparations.”

As one participant to the discussion commented, “Finally! Someone is addressing the CARICOM elephant in the room. They have moved on with little to no concern for African Americans who are waging the same fight for reparations that they are.  Has anyone else noticed that? We, the African Americans who are devoting our lives for the Caribbeans right to be included to receive reparations because they live in the US.  Anyone else have thoughts about that? “

This sentiment was expressed in the video African Americans UK "Blacks" NOT invited 2 African Union Reparation Conference Accra Ghana ARC2023? by Yenko Africa

Meanwhile, David Comissiong and I had a rather negative email exchange, too. Thus, there was this subtext that African Americans were being excluded from the Conference and that I, personally, was being excluded for reasons unknown. Given my extensive experience and involvment in the the legal arena, I couldn’t understand why I was not asked to contribute. Feeling a sense of duty, then, I reached out to the Conference Secretariat and several people wrote letter of recommendations, including Deadria Farmer-Paellmann, J.D., M.A. Executive Director Restitution Study Group, Christopher Jones IDPAD Coalition U.K., Dr. Lazare Ki-Zerbo Vice – Président, Centre international Joseph Ki-Zerbo pour l’Afrique et Sa Diaspora, and Cecile Johnson, CEO/Founder African Development Plan Inc./  Human Rights Defender for Afro-Descendants - asking that I be included in the conference:

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Deadria Farmer-Paellmann
Date: Mon, Oct 30, 2023 at 12:24 PM
Subject: Letter of Recommendation for Siphiwe Baleka to be named to the African Committee of Experts on Reparations at the Accra Reparations Conference
To: <repaconf23@africa-union.org>, <secretariat@accrareparationsconference.com>

To the Accra Reparations Conference,

I am reaching out to you as an advocate for slavery reparations active in the movement for the last 25 years. During that time, I have been exposed to many of the leaders of this struggle and their various strategies for success. Very few have displayed as broad a vision toward justice as Siphiwe Baleka. It is my understanding that the upcoming conference will constitute the first ever African Committee of Experts on Reparations. For the benefit of our people, I recommend that you consider Mr. Baleka for service on this esteemed Committee.

Mr. Baleka is well researched on the transatlantic slave trade and slavery. He has a comprehensive knowledge of our specific African origins, as well as the places we were deposited in the Americas, the conditions of the people,  and the various international agreements and instruments utilized in this crime against humanity. He also has a great knowledge of African nations today through residency and travel.

Mr. Baleka is well versed in DNA technology and how it can be utilized in an effort to secure reparatory justice. This is something my own organization embraces in our work.

Lastly, Mr. Baleka has been engaged in the international community writing policy, listening to and mobilizing peoples, and representing the interests of all Africans. I find him to be a brilliant resource and tireless contributor in work that requires creativity, precision and stamina.

I believe that Mr. Baleka will be an excellent resource and reliable, unifying team player as a member of your esteemed African Committee of Experts on Reparations. I recommend him without reservation.

Respectfully submitted,

Deadria Farmer-Paellmann, J.D., M.A.
Executive Director
Restitution Study Group
www.rsgincorp.org

Apparently, the letter writing campaign was successful, since I received an invitation to attend the conference as a delegate:

With this letter of invitation, I was thus preoccupied with raising the funds to pay for my transportation and accommodation at the Accra Reparations Conference. Thanks to some great supporters, I was able to raise $1,815 of the $3,000 fundraising goal to purchase a plane ticket. I now had a Peoples’ mandate as their representative and a mission to:

1) Introduce and explain the Dum Diversas-prisoner of war-ethnocide narrative and legal strategy;

2) Win over the CARICOM representatives and members of the African Union;

3) Influence the decision on the composition of the proposed African Committee of Experts on Reparations and make sure it includes those who have advanced the most in internal reparations;

Before departure, however, there was something extremely important that had to happen. I had to get the blessing of my Balanta ancestors by visiting the sahe ndang (“sacred tree”) in the village of Rucuto. After that visit, the elders prepared a sacred amulet which they gave to me the day before I departed for “All this blessing on your behalf and wishing success in Reparations conference and beyond. May all that comes out of your mouth be like honey!”

The power of the amulet would turn out to be immediately significant. Upon landing in Accra, while go through passport control, I was asked to show my yellow fever card. Unfortunately, I had left it in my desk at home. Anywone who goes through passport control in an airport in Africa knows how difficult they can be. When I explained to the lady in the booth that I had a yellow fever card but didn’t have it with me, she suggested I get a picture of it. Unfortunately, I couldn’t connect to the airport wifi so she connected me through the hotspot on her phone. Still, no one could find my yellow fever card in my desk! After 20 minutes, however, the lady in the booth looked at me and said, “I want you to go to the conference.” She handed me my passport, nodded her head and signalled me to pass. And with that, the door was open. This was my confirmation of the ancestors help because I have had numerous very negative experiences at passport control… Towards the end of the conference, I would get a second, crystal-clear confirmation of the power of traditional African spirituality and my Balanta amulet.

Following the photo gallery is my report from the Conference.

(hover over the picture for a description)

On Monday, November 13th, I was invited to the official banquet opening the Accra Reparations Conference. Here is H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, President of Ghana, speech at the gala affair:

Here is the video from the first day of the Accra Reparations Conference

DAY 3 OF THE ACCRA REPARATIONS CONFERENCE

(I’m still looking for video from Day 2)

In my notes from the first day, I wrote,

“Africa must first set the exampe of justice and reparations by having a comprehensive “Right of Return” policy that established a unique immigration status for DNA-tested and identified people of African descent (descendants of prisoners of war) that grants citizenship without qualification or fees. Until Africa has such an open citizenship and naturalization Right of Return law, it is in no position to expect European nations to fulfull their obligations - moral, historic, legal and economic.” Here is an example of a Right to Return proclamation for legislation that we have presented to the new administration in Guinea Bissau.

Now, when it is said, “these crimes ….. or crimes against humanity……” WE should say “THIS WAR RESULTING IN WAR CRIMES AGAINST PEOPLE FROM AFRICA.” Which is more devasting, a crime or a war? We natural give more “weight” to a victim of “war” than we do to a victim of a mere “crime”. When speaking of our experience, We must refer to the war and name it. This was illustrated, somewhat embarrisingly, during Dr. Julius Garvey’s presentation. Dr. Garvey was making a point about the enormity of the lost African lives during the period from the late 1400’s to the mid 1800’s. Dr. Garvey mentioned the tens of millions of deaths in World War 1, the tens of millions more in World War II, the lives lost during the Korean War, the Iraq and Afghanistan War, the War in Ukraine….. And then, we Dr. Garvey sought to contrast that with the over 100 million Africans who died, he incongruously referred to the “SLAVE TRADE”. Perhaps I was the only one who caught it and was taken aback. Why are all the other references to WARS and yet the reference to our experience of losing more than 100 million people is to the benign slave TRADE……???? We do an injustice to our own cause by accepting the colonial narrative used to mask the true nature of what happened, diminishing the horrors of war and reducing them to the gentle “trade”…..

Prof Hilary Beckles, the leader of the CARICOM Reparations Commission makes this exact point in his speech “The Age of Terror: Europe and the Trade in Africans in West Africa,” given 3-2-2023. Professor Beckles repeatedly states, 

"We also know that this military engagement in Africa began as a search for gold. And shifting from gold trade to the kidnapping of enchained labor. That was the enormity of this military complex that was unleashed upon the indigenous people of Africa . . . In Europe the royal families were the principle investors in these military operations. . . . The British Royal African Country had the full might of the British army and navy behind them. No West African government had the military capacity to withstand the military onslaught of these companies. These companies built forts along the coast of West Africa from Senne Gambia to Congo. . . . These corporations, and I have to emphasize this for people who have not been effectively exposed, there is a belief which you will find from observing movies and Hollywood type images, that slave traders were just a group of random individuals who took a small ships went out and randomly grabbed people and took them down the river and put them on a boat. You are looking at the most highly organized commercial military complex at this time. These corporations had dozens and dozens of ships, and thousands of soldiers in West africa on the coast to protect the storage and the shipment. They were Highly militarized with the latest military technology with the guns and the cannons and they were able to penetrate deeply into Africa with this military capacity. The Wealth that they accumulated, which was in the first instance the monopoly wealth of the royal families, eventually tricked down to the private sector, when they were given free access and down to the banks. The Bank of England was established in 1694 to help to finance the slave trade. All of the wealth coming back into England, going to the royal family and aristocracies that money had to be converted into investment capital . And so the Bank Of England was created . . . ."

Professor Beckles, like Dr. Garvey, goes as far as emphasizing the scale of the atrocity but failes to name the war! In my conference notes, I wrote,

“We talk about the abolition of the slave trade. . . . We give dates, documents, etc. But what about the beginning of the ‘slave trade’? How come nobody except myself mentions that it started on June 18, 1452 with a declaration of total war that resulted in a military invasion and the capturing of prisoners of wary?”

And it should be pointed out that Unlike genocide and war crimes, which have been widely recognized and prohibited in international criminal law since the establishment of the Nuremberg principles, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲, even though such crimes are continuously perpetrated worldwide in numerous conflicts and crises.

And this underscores why I took to the floor to educate the Conference on the truth: what we erroneously and ignorantly call the “trans Atlantic SLAVE TRADE” was actually the result of a declaration of war issued by Pope Nicholas V on June 18, 1452 know as the Dum Diversas Apostolic Edict which stated,

“we grant to you full and free power, through the Apostolic authority by this edict, to invade, conquer, fight, subjugate the Saracens and pagans, and other infidels and other enemies of Christ, and wherever established their Kingdoms, Duchies, Royal Palaces, Principalities and other dominions, lands, places, estates, camps and any other possessions, mobile and immobile goods found in all these places and held in whatever name, and held and possessed by the same Saracens, Pagans, infidels, and the enemies of Christ, also realms, duchies, royal palaces, principalities and other dominions, lands, places, estates, camps, possessions of the king or prince or of the kings or princes, 

AND TO LEAD THEIR PERSONS IN PERPETUAL SERVITUDE, AND TO APPLY AND APPROPRIATE REALMS, DUCHIES, ROYAL PALACES, PRINCIPALITIES AND OTHER DOMINIONS, POSSESSIONS AND GOODS OF THIS KIND TO YOU AND YOUR USE AND YOUR SUCCESSORS THE KINGS OF PORTUGAL.”

It is important, as this conference aims to move us forward towards “Building a United Front to Advance the Cause of Justice and the Payment of Reparations to Africa” that we emphatically begin our narrative and claim with the Dum Diversas as the starting point instead of 1619 as H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, President of Ghana unfortunately did during his opening statement to the Conference. This makes legal strategic sense, too, since 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 Establishing Africa’s reparation claim on the foundation of “war crimes” has a solid, stronger legal foundation. Indeed, this is the answer to Brian Kagoro’s question that he posed in his opening remarks. Mr. Kagoro stated,

“The Fundamental Question: Is the black body worthy of repair? What is the legal basis…..?”

And this leads to the question, who is Brian Kagoro and why is he important? Why did he give a keynote address at both the Opening and Closing of the Accra Reparations Conference? Why is he giving keynote addressess all over the place????

Siphiwe Baleka, President of the Balanta B’urassa History and Genealogy Society in America and Brian Kagoro, Programme Support Division Director of the Africa Regional Office (AfRO) of the Open Society Foundations (OSF).

According to the Yale Jackson School of Global Affairs,

“Brian Kagoro is the Programme Support Division Director of the Africa Regional Office (AfRO) of the Open Society Foundations (OSF). Prior to that he was Founder and Executive Director of UHAI Africa Group, a governance and development consulting firm with operations in Johannesburg, Harare, and Nairobi. Brian is a Pan Africanist and a constitutional and economic relations lawyer.

Prior to establishing UHAI Africa Group, Brian was the Regional Programme Advisor for the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Africa Governance and Public Administration Program, where he also led the UNDP Africa Governance Team within the Regional Service Centre for Africa. Prior to joining the UNDP, Brian served as Pan African Head of Policy and Advocacy at Action Aid International. Prior to joining Action Aid, Brian was a Partner at Law at Kantor & Immerman Legal Practitioners in Zimbabwe, where he also served on various Corporate and civil society Boards.

Read Full Bio”

Now, it is important to understand that it was the Open Society Foundation that financed the Barbados’ Study Tour our of which came this Accra Reparations Conference, also financed by the Open Society Foundation. It is said that “The Open Society Foundations champions the search for bold, democratic solutions to our urgent, common challenges that advance justice, equity, and human dignity.” According to the Open Society Foundation website, “George Soros began his philanthropic work in Africa in 1979. Today, Open Society–Africa works on democratic governance, economic advancement, and a host of other issues across the continent.” In 2022, OSF expenditures in Africa totaled $112.5 million, 8.5% of its global budget. Here is the OSF Leadership:

So Brian Kagoro is financed and supported by the OSF and this can partly explain his presence at the Accra Reparations Conference and eslewhere.

Prior to coming to Accra, I had never heard of Brian Kagoro. Recently he went viral for this video:

At the conference, I found all of Mr. Kagoro’s words to be “on point”. Immediately I traded contacts and began sharing messages and documents via WhatsApp. In particular, I found this quote very pertinent and shared it in a WhatsApp group:

Watch this excellent and bold speech Brian Kagoro gave at the 8th East African Philanthropic Conference: https://youtu.be/3pZ0E701Cq8?si=nOFadZUNSZ-lB-DB

However, to my surprise, I started receiving messages cautioning me to be careful of uplifing Mr. Kagoro because of perceived contradictions from his past in Zimbabwe. Another video posted by Rutendo Matinyarare was also going viral:

Apparently, Mr. Kagoro was being accused of collaborating with the West, especially the United States, in bringing sanctions against Zimbabwe and her people, in order to help the political opposition win an election. So I didn’t know what to think….. We talk about traitors, neocolonialists, elite capture, etc., but nobody raises their hand to identify themselves as one of them. So how are we to know?

So I just decided to ask Brian Kagoro himself about it. Let him explain himself.

Below is the paper Mr. Kagoro asked me to read stating his position back in 2010. From reading it and watching a few videos, my understanding is the Mr. Kagoro was taking a principled stand against impunity in Zimbabwe, and specifically against the constitutional provisions that would have allowed Mugabe (and others) to remain as President for life and also would make government officials immune from criminal prosecution. On that I have no problem and in no one does it serve as a kind of Pan African Contradiction. What is troubling to many, however, is that if he did, in fact, collaborate with the US in calling for sanctions, that would be a serious contradiction to the values of Pan Africanism which demand African solutions to African problems. As of this writing, Mr. Kagoro and I have yet to speak where he can answer to this directly.

[Note: at this moment the phone rings. It’s Brian Kagoro. We speak for exactly one hour].

I confronted Brian directly with the accusation that he betrayed his people by collaborating with the west and he promptly set me straight with facts. I also challenged him on the very apparent contradiction that he, as a servant of the OSF was himself an example of the African elite serving white masters who needed to be liberatied. (Note: Brian volunteered his time and never got a salary from OSF over his four years with them. Much of his work was self-funded from his law practice) He answered these shots calmly and skillfully. I realized that the allegations being made against him are largely malicious and/or uniformed. I took ten (10) pages of notes during our conversation. Rather than go into detail about what he said, suffice it to say that I am satisfied with Brian’s position. It’s apparent to me that Brian Kagoro is suffering a similar situation that my brothe Kamm Howard suffered, as the former National Co-Chair of NCOBRA when he accepted the McArthur grant and people complained that he had “sold out”. However, like Brian, Kamm believed that the philanthropic spaces could be tapped to do liberation work without being co-opted. That’s an ongoing debate, of course, and one that I prefer to answer by removing all contradictions and relyiing on Africa and African people to liberate ourselves. But the reparations objective, is, after all, to get resources from the West that are rightfully ours. So it can be argued that philanthropic support is, in fact, micro reparations that are to be used. Brother Kamm was, in my opinion, wrongfully slandered by many who did not know the real story of what happened or why, and those people certainly did not factor Brother Kamm’s track record to give him the benefit of the doubt. At this point, Rutendo Matinyarare’s allegations about Brian Kagoro are a non-issue for me. As Brian said to me,

“The AU coing is a blessing and a challenge. The formation and composition of the African Committee of Experts on Reparations is a decision for the AU member states who will make nominations. . . . I worked to pre-empt the process. CARICOM, CIDO, activists can put together a Commission. Working Commissions can make a report to AU ECOSOCC and CIDO to be part of the process. We must not let the political class hijack it; we must not let the philanthropic class see it as purely economic, and we must not let academic class see it as a research and study project.”

This was exactly my point in the article,

WHO IS AN AFRICAN EXPERT ON REPARATIONS?

All of this speaks directly to the elite capture mentioned by Kamm Howard and others above. Indeed, Esther Stanford Xoesi, Reparationist, Jurisconsult, Community Advocate, Educator, Environmentalist & 'Ourstorian' of the International Social Movement for Afrikan Reparations (ISMAR) tweeted:

SO THE QUESTION NOW IS: HAS THE OPEN SOCIETY FOUNDATION CAPTURED THE GLOBAL AFRICAN REPARATIONS MOVEMENT (Along with the McArthur Foundation and Liberated Capital through its #Case4Reparations)?

Indeed, I asked Dr. Ron Daniels, founder of the National Afrian American Reparations Commission (NAARC), a partner of the CARICOM Reparations Commission, if he had been consulted about the Accra Reparations Conference or the membership of the proposed African Committee of Experts on Reparations. He shrugged his shoulder and said, “No.” And Kamm Howard, Director of Reparations United, explained above, and is worth mentioning again,

“The 2023 Accra Summit is the result of the 2022 Accra Summit that was held by Civil Society - in particular the group of orgs that were funded by MacArthur that later became the Global Circle for Reparations and Healing. (The group that with the help of Siphiwe, authored and delivered the Reparations Presentment to Vatican) Accra 2023 is governments and the AU. They list CARICOM as participants, not the CARICOM Reparations Commission CRC,  as they would have to invited the National African American Reparations Commission. However, NAARC, unlike CAR, is civil society. The GCRH were not involved in the planning of Accra 2023 and were just recently invited - as they wanted financial contributions for our participation, which we do not have. Yet they are basing the conference on the work and outcome documents of 2022 Accra Summit, while calling the 2023 Accra Summit an inaugural conference. ‘

The other significant aspect of the Accra Reparations Conference was that it allowed for me to spend time with Gnaka Lagoke, the Coordinator for the proposed 9th Pan African Congress scheduled for 2024 in Togo. This was promoted by the South African representative on the first day of the conference and others throughout. As the Coordinator of the 8th Pan African Congress Part 1 that was called by H.E. Ambassador Arikana Chihombori-Quao and was supposed to have taken place already this year but was postponed to January of 2024 and still pending a final date, I had submitted a “harmonization” plan to bring both Pan African Congresses, along with the planned 8th Pan African Congress Part 2 that was called by the Global Pan African Movement (GPAM) to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the 7th PAC held in Kampala, Uganda in 1974. Thus, on the 4th day of the Accra Conference, I sat with Gnaka on the bus to and from the El Mina prison and discussed the harmonization plan.

Sister Brenda, Gnaka Lagoke, Siphiwe Baleka and Hazel “The Revolutionary” on the bus to El Mina prison.

In conclusion, I captured much more in my notes as there were a lot of very powerful presentations made by panelists. I had many conversations with the CARICOM delegates, including Hilary Brown, Dorbrene O’Marde, Steve Reid, Rhoda Arindell, David Comissiong, Dr. Chenzira Kahina, Dr. Claudius Fergus and Dr. Eric Phillips. I believe I won them over as colleagues, if not necessarily to all of my positions. But getting to meet people face to face and spending time together as human beings and not intellectual combatants is becoming more important to me.

At the end of the day, what’s important is for CARICOM and the AU to demonstrate Ubuntu with the stakeholders who are not sovereign states and ensure that we all move forward together. The proposed legal committees, expert committees, etc. can not be drawn from the small click of networked folks who are part of the philanthropic cabral of reparations elites. Many of the best minds and vetran activists are un-funded and largely excluded from these kinds of gatherings. Here is where the AU’s failure on its own Diaspora initiative is glaring and bespeaks for the need of an AU 6th Region Headquarters, representatives on the AU Permanent Representatives Committee, and a governing AU 6th Region High Council.

Siphiwe Baleka, Dr. Barryl Biekman, and Dr. Eric Phillips

The next step now is for all jurists, lawyers, students enrolled in law school, professors and other legal consultants to submit their

Input on the Request for an Advisory Opinion from the International Court of Justice on the Status of Afro Descendants Under the Geneva Convention

Here is the ACCRA PROCLAMATION ON REPARATIONS that was published after the conference. It should be noted that there was no decision making process at the conference. There were no breakout session where delegates were asked to present recommendations or draft language. There was no voting on anything. Basically what happened was that a small, unknown group wrote the proclamation and it was told to the delegates that this was going to be the way forward. They gave the delegates the microphone so that they could, in a very limited way from the floor, express themselves but it should be clear that this document represents the proclamation of the people behind the scenes who organized it and NOT the collective work and consensus of the delegates that attended.

POST CONFERENCE UPDATE

It is becoming more and more clear that CARICOM is waging a propoganda campaign to position itself as “taking the lead” in the global Afrikan Reparations Movement. Watch this video starting at the 1:17.45 mark and count the number of times the phrase “CARICOM/Caribbean/We are taking the lead . . . .” Additionally, the point is simultaneously asserted the it was the Caribbean that lead from the beginning.

Now, you can’t have it both ways. There is no reason to “take” the lead if you already possessed it. This is the reason why both Dr. Ron Daniels and Kamm Howard (see videos above) had to talk about the historical record. If we are all on the same team, why the need to keep asserting that you are taking the lead??? Previously, the reparations movement was led by civil society but it has now been captured by states. June Soomer makes an important point. The reparations movement in the United States is a movement of the people seeking reparations from its own government whereas the reparations movement coming out of the Caribean is now a movement of states seeking reparations from other governments and entities. . . . CARICOM is thus seeking a “development” approach while seasoned activists are seeking a more “justice” approach. . . .

The History . . . .

The leaders of the reparations movement, that started in the United States and took on its modern form at the National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America (NCOBRA) founding meeting, September 26, 1987, that was convened for the purpose of broadening the base of support for the long-standing reparations movement. Imari Obadele issues call to more than 25 organizations and individuals to come to Washington, DC to develop a definitive campaign for reparations for Blacks in the United States. Participants invited to these meetings included James Turner, Chair and Founder, Department of Africana Studies, Cornell University; Sonia Sanchez; Dorothy Benton Lewis, founder, Black Reparations Commission; Omali Yeshitali, African People’s Socialist Party; Chokwe Lumumba and Ahmed Obafemi, NAPO; Sylvia Hill and Gay McDougall, Southern Africa Support Project; Abudadika (Sonny Carson); Haywood Burns, NCBL and Dean, CUNY Law School; Omowale Satterwhite, The Community Development Institute in Palo Alto, CA; Nkechi Taifa ; Dr. Manning Marable; Aisha Muhammad; Dr. Ron Walters; Adjoa Aiyetoro; Bobby Seale; Elombe Braith, Patrice Lumumba Coalition; State Senator Henry Kirksey; Askia Muhammad, and Nzinga Warfield-Coppock. Vincent Godwin (now Kalonji Olusegun) chaired the five organizing meetings. 

HISTORY OF THE REPARATIONS MOVEMENT IN THE UNITED STATES

Belinda Royall presented a petition to the Massachusetts General Assembly requesting pension from the proceeds of her master’s estate because it was the product of her own uncompensated labor in 1783.

Special Field Order No. 15 (1865) military order issued during the Civil War on January 16, 1865 by General William Tecumseh Sherman issuing 40 acres of land to freed people. [See Here]

Henrietta Wood, a free Black woman, successfully sued for reparations from her kidnapper who had sold her into slavery illegally in 1870.

Callie House and Isiah Dickerson organized the National Ex-Slave Mutual Relief, Bounty and Pension Association with the goal of providing compensation to formally enslaved Africans, mutual aid, and burial costs in 1898.

Marcus Garvey saw the redemption of Africa as recompense for the exploitation of African people; He petitioned the League of Nations to turn over the former German colonies in Africa to the UNIA in 1919.

The Peace Movement of Ethiopia petitioned President Franklin Roosevelt and the Virginia legislature in 1930s for reparations.

Paul Roberson, William Patterson, and W.E.B. Du Bois launched the 1951 Genocide Campaign that included a call for repair and reparations in 1951.

Robert Brock in 1956 formed the Self-Determination committee in Los Angeles, CA which advocated for reparations for over 40 years.

Queen Mother Audley Moore appealed to the UN in 1957 and 1959 into 1962 for reparations for African Americans.

Republic of New Afrika – called for a separate black nation in southeastern US (organized by Imari Obadele and his Malcolm X Society) and $400 billion in slavery damages in 1968

African American Repatriation League appealed for support for blacks to emigrate to Africa as compensation for slavery

Martin Luther King Jr. called for reparations in 1963 and 1964 through a “Bill of Rights for the Disadvantaged” – “The moral justification for special measures for Negroes is rooted in slavery.”

Black Panther Party was formed and issued a call for reparations as part of its 10-Point Program in 1966.

Republic of New Afrika was formed with a demand for land to create a separate government composed of the “Black Belt” states in the souther U.S. and several billions of dollars in 1668.

Black National Economic Conference issued the Black Manifesto with a demand for reparations from churches in 1969.

National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America was formed and began the contemporary reparations movement.

Whitney Young of the Urban League suggested a Marshall Plan for African Americans.

James Forman former executive director of SNCC in May 1969 targeted religious institutions in the Black Manifesto; he demanded $5 billion in reparations from white Christian churches and Jewish synagogues – some white Protestant churches increased their annual contributions to Black organizations by $1 million

NCOBRA

August 21, 1987,

Imari Obadele, the president of the RNA, and an avid organizer for reparations, seized the time several weeksprior to the convening of the NCBL (National Conference of Black Lawyers) conference at the urging of Queen Mother Dorothy Benton Lewis, leader of the Black Reparations Commission, and issued a call to more than twenty-five organizations and individuals to come to Washington, D.C. and discuss building support for the armed struggle in Namibia, South Africa, Angola, and Mozambique. Development of a definitive campaign for reparations for N'COBRA was born the next year,

September 26, 1987

First organizing meetings held in D.C. at the headquarters of the Majestic Eagles.

November 8, 1987

Second organizing meeting held in D.C. at the headquarters of the Majestic Eagles.

January 16, 1988

Third organizing meeting held in Jamaica Queens at Southern Queens Park Association.

February 27, 1988

Fourth Organizing meeting held in DC at the Commission for Racial Justice. The National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America (N’COBRA) is formed.

April 10, 1988

Fifth organizing meeting in Philadelphia, PA at the MarcusGarvey House. An N’COBRA acting Executive Committee was formed that included Kalonji Olusegun, Imari Obadele, Nana Seshibe, James Turner, and Adjoa Aiyetoro. Washington, D.C. was chosen as the headquarters.

April 8, 1989

First N’COBRA Town Hall Meeting held at he Frank D. Reeves Center, in Washington, DC. Speakers include Senator Bill Owens, of Michigan, Kalonji Olusegun, Nkechi Taifa, Chokwe Lumumba, Imari Obadele and Adjoa Aiyetoro.

June 1989

N’COBRA receives a letter from Congressman John Conyers, of Detroit, Michigan, requesting the organization’s review and comment on a legislative summary that he planned to incorporate in a bill to be introduced to the House of Representatives. 

July 8, 1989

N’COBRA convenes a public meeting at the Reeves Center, in Washington, DC to discuss and respond to Congressman Conyers’ request.

November 20, 1989

Congressman Conyers introduced H.R. 40 to the House of Representatives

June 1990

First N’COBRA annual Reparation Conference is held at Howard University, National Co-Chairs are Kalonji Olusegun and Adjoa Aiyetoro, Esq. Special guest, State Senator Bill Owens, discussed the reparations bill he introduced in the Massachusetts State Legislature.

September 1990

Nkechi Taifa, as chair of the DC Chapter of NCBL, requests the DC Council to issue a resolution in support of Reparations through the Honorable Wilhemina J. Rolark, Chair of the Judiciary Committee. The DC Council issues a resolution.

The first Pan African Conference on Reparations was held in Abuja, Nigeria in 1993.

Lost and Found Nation of Islam under the leadership of Silas Muhammad petitioned for a UN hearing on Reparations.

History of Black Americans suing for reparations

  • 1995 Cato v. U.S.

  • 2002, Imari Obadele (Republic of New Afrika) won an indirect consideration of the legality of reparations in the federal court of claims; Obadele v. U.S.

  • 2002, Deadria Farmer-Paellmann sued Aetna Insurance Company, Fleet Boston Financial (successor of Providence Bank founded by Rhode Island businessman/slave trader John Brown), and the CSX Railroad; the claim alleged that these companies conspired with slave traders and illegally profitted from slavery

History of Black Americans being paid reparations

  1. Rosewood survivors and descendants paid by FL

  2. Timothy Pigford (black farmers) vs. USDA – $1.25 billion in 1999; Pigford II case as well

  3. North Carolina passed an appropriations bill to give compensation, up to $50,000 per person, to individuals sterilized under the authority of the Eugenics Board of North Carolina

    History of reparations being recommended to Black Americans

  4. 1997 – Oklahoma Commission to Study the Tulsa Riots of 1921

  5. 2005 – Virginia and private donations provided scholarships to pursue higher education to African Americans whose public schools were closed in Prince Edward County after Brown V. Board

  6. 2006 – commission recommended reparations be paid to descendants of Black people killed in a riot that destroyed Black homes and businesses in 1898 in Wilmington, NC; the legislature refused

    History of Reparations Internationally

  7. 2001 The World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance in Durban, South Africa

    Present day mobilizing for reparations in:

  8. U.S., Caribbean (CARICOM), South America, Various countries in Africa and in 2016, the United Nations Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent 2016 call for reparations

So it is quite clear where the leadership of the reparations movement has come and it seems that some withing CARICOM, responding to a kind of inferiority complex, find the need to assert themselves as “the leaders”……

Input on the Request for an Advisory Opinion from the International Court of Justice on the Status of Afro Descendants Under the Geneva Convention

Delegates to the Accra Reparations Conference 2023 entering the prison used to house African prisoners of war before departing from the Door of No Return and trafficked to the Americas were they suffered chattel enslavement and ethnocide.

The following form is for lawyers, judges, professors, activists and legal strategists to provide input on specific questions that are intended for the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to give its Opinion on fundamental legal questions related to the Global Afrikan Reparatory Justice Movement.

The questions were first developed by Siphiwe Baleka and then endorsed by 248 others who signed the MANDATE FROM THE AFRO DESCENDANT PEOPLE ISSUED TO THE PERMANENT FORUM ON PEOPLE OF AFRICAN DESCENT TO REQUEST AN ADVISORY OPINION FROM THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE ON THEIR STATUS AS PRISONERS OF WAR UNDER THE GENEVA CONVENTION.

The President of the Permanent Forume on People of African Descent, Ms. Epsy Campbell Barr, officially incorporated this item on the Agenda of the third session of PFPAD in April 2024. Meanwhile, CARICOM has announced that it, too, is considering requesting an Advisory Opinion from the ICJ.

𝐃𝐫. 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐚 𝐍. 𝐁𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐭, 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐎𝐌 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐲-𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥, 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐜𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐫𝐚 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 stated,

"Reparatory justice for the Caribbean Community is a priority for our heads of goverment who agree that collaboration with Africa on reparations is critical to moving this agenda forward. They have expressed their full support for the convening of the Accra Reparations Conference as 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐨𝐧, 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐚 between the Caribbean and Africa on reparations. It is in this context that we welcome the update that the African Union is also seeking to develop a common position on reparations and 𝒂 𝒓𝒐𝒂𝒅 𝒎𝒂𝒑 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒇𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑨𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝑫𝒊𝒂𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒂 𝒐𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒆. The Accra Reparations Conference is therefore timely to facilitate Dialogue on the reparations agenda. . . . 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐎𝐌 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐠𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐲. 𝐖𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐮𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐠𝐧. . . . "

The ACCRA PROCLAMATION ON REPARATIONS that was published after the conference states,

"𝟔. 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐣𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: This will involve engagement, in close coordination with the African Union Commission, on the question of how international law interacts with or supports the quest for reparations, including the potential for exploring litigation options in regional and international court systems. This effort will require the African Union, including the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights and African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, CARICOM and Latin American states, Europe and all other regions of the world, among others, 𝒊𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒄𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒍 𝒔𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒕𝒚, 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑼𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝑵𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒍 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔, 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒍𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅, 𝒄𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒎, 𝒂𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒅 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝑨𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒔, 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒕𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒗𝒊𝒐𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒅. In addition, we support actions being taken in and outside the Continent by individual Member States and descendants of victims of these historical crimes and call on the African Union to lend its weight behind future litigatory actions for reparations."

At the third session of PFPAD, Siphiwe Baleka made an impassioned plea for new PFPAD President June Soomer to sign the Request before the conclusion of the session and send it to the Registrar of the ICJ. Siphiwe Baleka received a standing ovation!

Nevertheless, President Soomer told TAG24 NEWS that she will not take independent action on the petition request. The matter must first be discussed among all of the forum members, she said, and a decision will not be reached until all legal considerations are taken into account. Nevertheless, Dr. Soomer has since stated, that we must take our reparations case to the ICJ.

Therefore, we are using this input form so that civil society can provide a legal analysis of the fundamental questions to be submitted to the ICJ.

To contribute to this recommendation and assist in the research and collaboration, please complete the following questionaire or answer the question and send to: balantasociety@gmail.com

INPUT ON THE REQUEST FOR AN ADVISORY OPINION FROM THE ICJ ON THE STATUS OF AFRO DESCEDANTS UNDER THE GENEVA CONVENTION

(please complete this online form or send your answers, study or analysis to balantasociety@gmail.com)

A Matter of War: Imari Obadele, Our Enslavement in the 13 Colonies and the United States, the Republic of New Afrika and Reparations

Now, by comparision, consider:

LEGAL CONSEQUENCES ARISING FROM THE POLICIES AND PRACTICES OF ISRAEL IN THE OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY, INCLUDING EAST JERUSALEM - December 30, 2022

The ICJ—at the behest of the UN General Assembly (UNGA)—may soon advise that international law requires Israel to unilaterally and unconditionally withdraw from the disputed Palestinian territories. The UNGA initiated the case by a resolution, passed on December 30, 2022, that requested an ICJ advisory opinion on two questions relating to the legal status and consequences of Israel's presence in “the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967.”

SOUTH AFRICA institutes International Court of Justice proceedings against ISRAEL under the Genocide Convention and requests provisional measures. - December 29, 2023

Within days of the proceedings initiated by South Africa, Israel began withdrawing troops from Gaza.

INPUTS

WHO IS AN AFRICAN EXPERT ON REPARATIONS?

“The African Committee of Experts on Reparations can not be comprised solely of technocrats. It must consist of people who have advanced the most in internal reparations - the self repair and recovery from ethnocide. If someone in CARICOM for example gets development aid and yet can not identify who are their maternal and/or their paternal ancestors in Africa and have no desire to identify with being African and have not re-organized their life around Pan Africanism and Ubuntu, can they really be said to have been repaired? The African Committee of Experts on Reparations should be composed of people who can properly guide the technocrats. Mere educational and professional credentials does not make one an expert on reparations. proposed candidates should be asked, what is the evidence of your self repair and how have you used external resources for the benefit of africa and her peoples’ self repair?”

- Siphiwe Baleka, Coordinator of the Lineage Restoration Movement

The Accra Reparations Conference began on November 13. It is co-organized by the Republic of Ghana and the African Union Commission. According to the Conference’s concept note, 

“The Accra Reparations Conference, building on previous and present efforts in favor of reparation intends to build an all-African peoples unified front for the advancement of the cause of reparatory justice. That front endorsed by the African Union, with the strategic support of CARICOM and various stakeholders in the United States of America and in Europe will constitute the first ever African Committee of Experts on reparations. The Committee, drawn from relevant fields including law, will be established for the purpose of developing a Common African Position on Reparations and incorporate therein, an African Reparatory Programme of Action.“

This begs the question - who is an African expert on reparations? 

The first part of this question should not be glossed over. The question as to who is an African has been around since before the founding of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and still challenges the global Pan African community. Are the European diaspora who live in Africa and hold citizenship to AU member states considered “African”? If so, then “nationalism” as constructed by post-Berlin conference is the operative paradigm and thus “white” people who hold African passports would be considered “African”. Peter Tosh answered the question simply: As long as you are a Black man you are an African.

Then there is the further confusion created by the lack of clarity on who is African when considering the question of the “African Diaspora”. To many people on the continent, especially governments, the African Diaspora consists of people who hold African citizenship and are living outside the continent. However, in February of 2003, the African Union adopted the Article 3q Amendment to its Constitutive Act that officially,

“invite(s) and encourage(s) the full participation of Africans in the Diaspora in the building of the African Union in its capacity as an important part of our Continent.”

Controversy surrounded and still surrounds what was meant by the full participation of “Africans in the Diaspora”. A distinction was made between the ‘historical diaspora” - those living outside of the African continent because of being taken as a prisoner of war, trafficked across the Atlantic, and subjected to chattel enslavement and ethnocide - and the “contemporary diaspora” consisting of those people who migrated from the African continent in more modern times. Today, though the African Union “Sixth Region” is much talked about, it still doesn't officially exist on equal footing as the other five regions. The 6th Region has no representation in the AU Permanent Representative Committee (PRC), nor has the historic diaspora elected its representatives to take its twenty seats it was originally allocated in the Economic, Social and Cultural Council. Indeed the Definition of the Diaspora Committee for the 8th Pan African Congress Part 1 called by H.E. Ambassador Arikana Chihombori Quao, has been studying and providing its recommendations on a final definition of the African Diaspora. 

Nevertheless, I think it is safe to say that an African Committee of Experts on Reparations would consist of members who have African maternal or paternal ancestry. Or, in other words, people whose non-recombinant DNA comes from the various people living on the African continent from 500 to 2,000 years ago. This of course would include both the “contemporary” and “historic” diasporas. People with both European maternal and paternal DNA who happen to be citizens in an African country would not be eligible for an African Committee of Experts on Reparations.

Perhaps the more difficult question, then, is, who is an expert on reparations? How does one become an expert on such a thing? What are the qualifications?

Let me start this part of the discussion by using an example. Consider the activity of swimming. Who would we call an “expert” swimmer? Someone who has read a lot about physiology? Someone who worked at a swimming pool or beach? Or someone who has and can perform the act of swimming with a very high degree of skill? In the case of the latter, of someone who could swim with a very high degree of skill, would it be necessary that they have swimming awards from formal competitive swimming or would a demonstration of their “expertise” be enough without the accolades? Same thing with a heart surgeon. Would we consider someone who has read a lot of textbooks and attended medical school but never performed a heart surgery an “expert” on heart surgery? If someone successfully performed heart surgeries but was never “certified” by the medical community - could they be considered an “expert”? If you think that scenario is far fetched, consider a lawyer. If someone who never went to law school yet successfully litigated several cases - could they be considered an “expert”, as in the case of “Brian Mwenda” who won 26 legal cases while practicing before the High Court of Kenya, even though he was never licensed to practice law in the first place? Does not government institutions hire former “criminals” who are “experts” in counterfeiting and computer hacking?

The definition of expert is: a person who has a comprehensive and authoritative knowledge of or skill in a particular area. Here, “authoritative” means able to be trusted as being accurate or true; reliable, considered to be the best of its kind and unlikely to be improved upon, proceeding from an official source, commanding and self-confident; likely to be respected and obeyed.

Now, in this sense, we are talking about experts on reparations as it pertains to global Afrikan reparatory justice for the trafficking of prisoners of war from their ancestral homelands on the African continent and their enslavement and ethnocide in the Americas. In this sense, reparations means repairing the damage done to those communities, families and individuals that were directly victimized and affected. It means restoring to the condition before the war started, before the invasion, and before the trafficking of the prisoners of war. And that condition was being free from the jurisdiction and economic and other systems of non-African people.

An expert on reparations, therefore, would be someone with authoritative experience of reverse engineering that process - someone that recovered from ethnocide, repatriated to his or her ancestral homeland, obtained citizenship, learned their ancestral language, and re-integrated into the village(s). This is what the National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America (NCOBRA) calls “internal” reparations. A person that has achieved a high level of internal reparations and has had  several years development experience could rightly be called a reparations “expert” since he or she would have a comprehensive and authoritative knowledge of the repair process and experience on both sides of the Atlantic. Such people should definitely be included on any African Committee of Experts on Reparations. 

https://www.tag24.com/politics/reparations/how-dna-could-hold-the-key-to-one-mans-genetic-case-for-reparations-2761745

In so much as moral and historical appeals to reparations have largely been unsuccessful in securing the commitments, the status change, the change in power relationships, and the sacrifice of material and financial resources, legal efforts now seem to be the next step. People who have filed reparations claims in domestic, regional, and international courts could be considered experts. 

Now consider that the Resolution on Africa’s Reparations Agenda and The Human Rights of Africans In the Diaspora and People of African Descent Worldwide - ACHPR/Res.543 (LXXIII) 2022 - Dec 12, 2022 declares that 

"2. Calls upon member states to: . . . take measures to eliminate barriers to acquisition of citizenship and identity documentation by Africans in the diaspora; to establish a committee to consult, seek the truth, and conceptualize reparations from Africa’s perspective, describe the harm occasioned by the tragedies of the past, establish a case for reparations (or Africa’s claim), and pursue justice for the trade and trafficking in enslaved Africans, colonialism and colonial crimes, and racial segregation and contribute to non-recurrence and reconciliation of the past;, . . . 4. Encourages civil society and academia in Africa, to embrace and pursue the task of conceptualizing Africa’s reparations agenda with urgency and determination.” 

Thus, people with a comprehensive and authoritative knowledge of African legal systems and customs pertaining to prisoners of war and slavery in Africa prior to the military invasion of the Dum Diversas war should also be members of any African Committee of Experts on Reparations since, in accordance with principles of African law as well as current international law and Global Afrikan Reparatory Justice, the jurisdiction governing adjudication must be the jurisdiction where the crime occurred which, in this case, originated on the African continent.

Since “external” reparations involves the transfer of technology, land, material and financial resources to be deployed in advancing indigenous African systems of health, education, public works, trade, and banking, people with training in both those indigenous African systems and the Western modern systems need to be part of any African Committee of Experts on Reparations.

The Accra Reparations Conference should not make the mistake of appointing elected officials, popular personalities, and people with neo colonial attitudes and lack of solid Pan African track records to any African Committee of Experts on Reparations. As one person put it, what good is getting $100 million or $10 billion or more if those educated in neocolonial systems only recreate them under the outward label of “African”? Western styled developmentalism is not reparations, and getting resources for government administrations following neocolonial development models that reproduce capitalistic wealth and social inequality will not lead to a strong, powerful African Renaissance. Thus, members of any African Committee of Experts on Reparations should be people who can be trusted to speak authoritatively from an African perspective that is in opposition to neocolonialism.

Thus, one way to bring structure to the proposed African Committee of Experts on Reparations is to follow NCOBRA’s 5 Injury Areas of systemic oppression & systemic slavery which are: 

  1. PEOPLEHOOD 

  2. EDUCATION 

  3. HEALTH 

  4. CRIMINAL PUNISHMENT

  5. WEALTH/POVERTY 

I would change #4 to LAW. Each area could have one expert from the African Continent and one from the African Diaspora. That’s a total of 10 Experts. For example, who has come from the west and demonstrated wealth creation from an indigenous African enterprise? Who knows how to organize and amplify and distribute effective African medicine?

The remaining five experts could be selected for recognized expertise in any field related to internal or external reparations such as immigration, agriculture, diplomacy, administration, project management, marketing, etc.

This will be all the more important since the proposed African Committee of Experts on Reparations will develop an action plan for a sustainable reparatory justice process in Africa, taking into account the historical context, current challenges, and future prospects while the proposed global Reparations Fund will be established to support the activities of the Committee of Experts on Reparations.

What the Afrikan people want is an African Committee of Experts on Reparations who can be trusted to speak truth to power, who will be uncompromising and unapologetic about what is truly needed and owed, and who will not be tricked or duped into neocolonial compromises that do not lead to the transformation of African countries’ negative sovereignty to the positive sovereignty needed to safeguard the well-being of African people at home and abroad.

https://www.tag24.com/politics/reparations/siphiwe-balekas-landmark-petition-seeking-reparations-for-us-ethnocide-dismissed-2892204

What Real Reparations Looks Like: A Visit to the Balanta Village in Rucuto, Guinea Bissau

On Thursday, October 26, 2023, I went to visit a Balanta community in the Rucuto tabanca (village). The visit was requested after word spread that I had traveled to the United Nations and demanded reparations for Balanta people recently while confronting the U.S. State Department for its state-sanctioned ethnocide against the Balanta people in America and the violation of their rights under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Geneva Convention. The visit was part of my CALL TO ORGANIZE BALANTA PEOPLE WORLDWIDE in order that they can exercise their rights under international law since no government, not even the government of the Republic of Guinea Bissau, is protecting them. Thus, it must be Balanta people themselves, working on both sides of the Atlantic and wherever they find themselves, who must take responsiblility for their own well-being and development. Like Amilcar Cabral, I realized I must travel throughout Guinea Bissau, visit the Balanta villages, and organize them one by one.

So on the morning of October 26, I and Daniel Nabicamba, Founder of the Dafana Institute, set off to visit the Balanta people living in Rucuto, about 45 kilometers from the capital city of Bissau. The gallery of photos and the videos below will tell the story and show you what happened. But it’s important to say now how we got to this point in order to emphasize that

THIS IS WHAT REAL REPARATIONS LOOKS LIKE!

Let’s review:

  1. In the 1760’s, a boy from a village in Untche (in modern day Guinea Bissau) was captured and taken prisoner at the slave fort in Cacheu and trafficked to Charleston, South Carolina were he was subjected to “Negro Codes” that amounted to state-sanctioned ethnocide and was subsequently subjected to chattel enslavement. Here is the actual historical documentation.

  2. The history of my family in America is thus told from the point of view that we are captured Balanta prisoners of war held under the jurisdiction of the United States suffering political and economic slavery created through the forced citizenship erroneously imposed by the 14th amendment of the US Constitution without our consent.

  3. On September 28, 2010, I took a DNA test and discovered my Balanta paternal origins. This began the process of repairing from ethnocide and chattel enslavement. Since then, I have been preserving my ancestral culture and language. In 2019 I founded the Balanta B’urassa History and Genealogy Society in America and I published the three-volume Balanta B’urassa, My Sons: Those Who Resist Remain - the first comprehensive history of the Balanta People from their pre-Kemetic origins. I also published Balanta Kentohé Language Lessons Series 1 , 2 and 3 complete with 35 free video lessons.

  4. In January of 2020, I made my first vist to Guinea Bissau, started negotiations with the government, met with Balanta elders, and distributed free Balanta language books in the villages. This resulted in the ground-breaking Decade of Return Initiative and the Citizenship Program for the Balanta prisoners of war in America.

5. Members of the Balanta B’urassa History and Genealogy Society in America have been resposible for renovating a Headquarters that served as the Olympic Training Center for the Guine Bissau Olympic Swim Team, providing naming ceremonies for Balanta prisoners of war in America, distributing food in nine Balanta villages, helping five groups of Balanta, Fula, Djola and Brame descendants return to their ancestral homeland, established the Lineage Restoration Council of Guinea Bissau, served as the Patron and financial sponser of the Sports Society of Guinea Bissau senior girls futbol team that won the league championship in 2023 and placed three players on the women’s National team, represented Guinea Bissau for the first time in the African Continental Swimming Championships while establishing the Guinea Bissaus Swimming Federation and much more.

6. The ultimate result has been a sustained diplomatic and development effort for Balanta people on both sides of the Atlantic.

THE ONLY THING MISSING HAS BEEN RECOGNITION AND FUNDING TO FURTHER REPAIR THE CONNECTION AND IMPROVE THE TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE RURAL VILLAGES

On Friday, October 27, I was informed that the two proposals I submitted to the Decolonizing Wealth Project - Liberated Capital’s Case for Reparations Fund were rejected. That was $225,000 that was going to be used to bring development to Balanta people on both sides of the Atlantic.

***********************************************************************************************

During my visit, my Balanta hosts showed me the vast acres of rice fields that they plant and harvest by hand. What they wanted was a single tractor! Later, they showed me a break in their construction and they wanted to send a team to fix it which would require a team to stay there for 3 or 4 days. All they needed was a 50 kilogram bag of rice so that they could eat and work. Fortunately, BBHAGSIA member Nicole Holmes donated the money and the work has commenced.

All of this is to say that the purpose of reparations is to repair the damage done after a war to the communities that were invaded in Africa, and the people who were harmed, starting with the prisoners of war that were trafficked, enslaved and suffered ethnocide. My life is now a living example that repair and recovery from eight generations of ethnocide is possible and this is what it looks like - experiencing and bringing the physical, spiritual, emotional, intellectual, social, economic and political transformation necessary to Africans at home and abroad as one people!

A Visit to the Balanta Village in Rucuto, Guinea Bissau

After sending the 50kg bag of rice and other food, the reapir was completed on November 4, 2023 thanks to the reparations provided through the Balanta B’urassa History and Genealogy Society in America through the Decade of Return Initiative.

United States Confronted About State-Sanctioned Ethnocide Against Balanta People at the United Nations

October 16, 2023 Geneva Switzerland - The State Department of the United States of America was confronted with questions about U.S.-sanctioned ethnocide against Balanta people in the United States by Balanta Society in America President Siphiwe Baleka during the Civil Society Consultation held at the Permanent Mission of the United States of America to the United Nations at Route de Pregny 11, 1292 Pregny-Chambesy. The consultation with senior level officials of the United States Government was led by the Honorable Ambassador Michele Taylor, Representative to the United Nations Human Rights Council ahead of its scheduled fifth periodic review under the Internationa Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) which takes place on the 17th and 18th of October.

From left to right: Ms. Heidi Todacheene, Senior Advisor Office of the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of Interior; Mr. Robert Gilchrist, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor; Mr. Justin Vail, Special Assistant to the President for Democracy and Civic Participation, Domestic Policy Council of the Executive Office of the President; The Honorable Ambassador Michele Taylor, Representative to the United Nations Human Rights Council; and Mr. Steven Reed, Mayor of Montgomery, Alabama.

Mr Baleka was the seventh speaker during the session and, after first speaking in his native Balanta language and presenting himself as a living example of an Afro Descendant recovering from ethnocide committed by the Unites States, asked the following questions which had been previously submitted to the July 12 Civil Society Consultation but were not answered then:

Q1. What remedies are available to the Balanta people in America for redress for ethnocide?

Q2. Will the government of the United States of America engage in negotiations with the Balanta people, the government of the Republic of Guinea Bissau, the Vatican, and the Government of Portugal, under the Geneva Convention, for the final “release and repatriation” of the descendants of the Balanta, Fulani, Mandinga, Papel, Manjaco, Beafada, Brame (Mancanha), Bijago, Djola (Felupe), Mansoaca prisoners of war who were trafficked to and enslaved in America?

Q3. How can the Balanta B’urassa History and Genealogy Society in America engage in the process of receiving reparations for the crimes of slavery and ethnocide?

Mr. Jonathan Smith responded with the Department of Justice’s standard position against “trafficking” which, in this context, would either be a reference to the experience of being captured as a prsioner of war, put in chains, imprisoned and then “shipped” accross the Atlantic to be dehumanized and subjugated to chattel enslavemenr, or else a complete misunderstanding of the issues being raised. Mr. Justin Vail then acknowledged the issue of America’s slavery heritage and the current reparations movement, and Mr. Aaron Ford added that Mr. Baleka’s demonstration of ethnocide repair was impressive and then apologized for having to give the admittedly unsatisfactory answer that reparations would best be handled by the municipal and state level. Noting that none of the US Delegation responded directly to the first question, Mr. Baleka seized the moment to ask, “Can anyone respond to the issue of ethnocide that I raised?” The room fell awkwardly silent after which Mr. Baleka took his seat.

According to Mr. Baleka, “It was the first time that Balanta people were acknowledged by the United States government. And though I didn’t expect much by way of their on-the-record responses, I was encouraged by the private discussions I had during the reception with Shoba Sivasprasad Wadhia, Ambassador Taylor, Robert Glichrist, and the President of the National Bar Association, Dominique D. Calhoun, all of whom were unaware of the growing Lineage Restoration Movement and gave helpful advice on how to proceed.”

ICCPR 2023 Delegation Biographies

Delegation Representatives

Michele Taylor, Ambassador

Ambassador Michèle Taylor was sworn in as U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations Human Rights Council on February 22, 2022. Ambassador Taylor is a lifelong human rights activist and advocate with a determined commitment to service. As a daughter and granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, Ambassador Taylor brings to the Human Rights Council a profound appreciation for the crucial role the Council can and must play to promote universal human rights and protect human rights defenders. Ambassador Taylor is an advocate of women and girls in all their diversity, having long championed access to STEM careers, action to end violence against women, and equality for LGBTQI+ persons.

Bathsheba N. Crocker, U.S. Permanent Representative to the UN

Bathsheba “Sheba” Nell Crocker was confirmed by the Senate on December 18, 2021 and presented her credentials on January 18, 2022 as the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva, with the rank of Ambassador. Ambassador Crocker most recently served as a Senior Advisor at the U.S. Department of State.

U.S. Government Advisors

Michelle Brane, Executive Director, Family Reunification Task Force, DHS

Michelle Brané is the Executive Director of the Family Reunification Task Force, and a Senior Counselor to the Secretary of Homeland Security, the chair of the Task Force. As executive director, she oversees the inter-agency task force's day-to-day operations as it seeks to find and reunite the children and parents. Ms. Brané has more than 25 years of experience working on immigration and human rights issues at the Department of Justice Board of Immigration Appeals, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe in Bosnia. She has extensive experience in program management and advocacy.

Shoba Sivaprasad Wadhia, Officer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, DHS

Shoba Sivaprasad Wadhia is the Officer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties at the Department of Homeland Security. The Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL) supports the Department's mission to secure the nation while preserving individual liberty, fairness, and equality under the law. She leads CRCL to integrate civil rights and civil liberties into all Department activities by: Promoting respect for civil rights and civil liberties in policy creation and implementation; Communicating with individuals and communities whose civil rights and civil liberties may be affected by Department activities; Investigating civil rights and civil liberties complaints filed by the public regarding Department policies or activities, or actions taken by Department personnel; and Leading the Department's equal employment opportunity programs and promoting workforce diversity and merit system principles. Prior to joining the Biden-Harris Administration, Wadhia spent over two decades working as in the field of immigration in private practice, non-profit, and higher education. Most recently, she served as the Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; Samuel Weiss Faculty Scholar; and Clinical Professor of Law at Penn State Law in University Park.

Royce Bernstein Murray, Senior Counselor to the Secretary of Homeland Security, DHS

Royce Bernstein Murray is a Senior Counselor to the Secretary for Homeland Security. In her current role, she works to ensure that the U.S. immigration system protects the rights of refugees and other vulnerable noncitizens while maintaining the security of U.S. borders and the enforcement of immigration laws. Over the past 25 years, she has worked on migration and human rights issues for the U.S. government, nongovernmental organizations, academia, and the World Bank.

Deborah Plunkett, Associate General Counsel, DOD

Deborah Plunkett is Associate General Counsel with the International Affairs division at the U.S. Department of Defense. In her role, she counsels regarding compliance with applicable law, including international law. This includes supporting robust U.S. engagement in processes like the ICCPR review.

Ann Marie Bledsoe Downes, Principal Deputy Solicitor for Indian Affairs, DOI

Ann Marie Bledsoe Downes is the Principal Deputy Solicitor at the Department of Interior. She oversees the team of over 400 attorneys who provide legal counsel and advice to the Department of the Interior. In that role she is led by a U.S. Department that for the first time is led by an Indigenous Secretary, Deb Haaland, from the Pueblo of Laguna. The Department provides services to 574 federally recognized tribes with a service population of over 2.5 million American Indian and Alaska Natives and places emphasis on the policies of tribal self-governance and self-determination.

Heidi Todacheene, Senior Advisor to the Secretary, DOI

Heidi Todacheene serves as Senior Advisor to the Secretary at the U.S. Department of the Interior, and as the Executive Director of the Interior’s first-ever Secretary’s Tribal Advisory Committee (STAC). In her role, she oversees the Administration’s Indigenous and International priorities at the agency and strengthens the United States’ federal trust relationship with the 574 federally recognized American Indian and Alaska Native Tribes and their leadership.

Johnathan Smith, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, DOJ

Johnathan Smith is a Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice. The Division enforces federal statutes that prohibit discrimination and works to uphold the civil and constitutional rights of all persons in the United States, particularly some of the most vulnerable members of our society. In his role, Johnathan helps oversee the Division’s investigatory, enforcement, and policy efforts.

Finnuala Tessier, Attorney Advisor, DOJ

Finnuala Tessier is an Attorney Advisor in the Office of Policy and Legislation in the Department of Justice Criminal Division. In her role, she coordinates the Division’s response on policy and regulatory issues, including processes like the ICCPR review. In addition, Ms. Tessier is a member of the Department’s Sentencing Policy Group, through which she works on many of the criminal justice and sentencing policy initiatives that are the subject of the ICCPR review.

Jennifer Goodyear, Labor Attache, DOL

[pending]

Robert Gilchrist, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, DOS

Robert S. Gilchrist is the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy Human Rights and Labor. He is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Minister-Counselor. His last position was United States Ambassador to the Republic of Lithuania 2020-2023. Prior to being ambassador, Mr. Gilchrist Director of the Department of States Operations Center, Deputy Chief of Mission of the United States Embassy in Sweden, Deputy Chief of Mission of the United States Embassy in Estonia, and the Director of Nordic and Baltic Affairs in the State Department’s Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs. Among his earlier assignments, Mr. Gilchrist was Deputy Political Counselor at the United States Embassy in Iraq, Chief of the Political Section of the United States Embassy in Romania, and a Special Assistant in the Office of the Deputy Secretary of State.

Mary Catherine Malin, Deputy Legal Adviser, DOS

Mary Catherine Malin is a Deputy Legal Adviser at the Department of State. She has served in the Legal Adviser’s Office for over 37 years. As deputy she supervises a number of offices, including the office that handles legal issues pertaining to human rights and refugees. She previously served in the section of the Legal Adviser's office for United Nations Affairs.

Justin Vail, Special Assistant to the President for Democracy and Civic Participation, DPC

Justin Vail serves as Special Assistant to the President for Democracy and Civic Participation at the White House Domestic Policy Council, where he works to strengthen American democracy.

Catherine Elizabeth Lhamon, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Education

Catherine E. Lhamon is the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education. In her role, she works to ensure equal access to education and to promote educational excellence through vigorous enforcement of civil rights in US schools.

Karim David Marshall, Senior Advisor, EPA

Karim D. Marshall is the Senior Advisor for the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights (OEJECR) at the Environmental Protection Agency. In this role, he works to advance OEJECR’s mission to coordinate implementation of EJ priorities across the agency’s national programs, regions, the Administrator’s Office, and across partnerships with other federal agencies and coregulators in state, tribal, and local government, industry, and communities.

Jessica Swafford Marcella, Deputy Assistant Secretary, HHS

Jessica Swafford Marcella was appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary for Population Affairs and Director of the Office of Adolescent Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on May 10, 2021. In this capacity, Ms. Marcella oversees the nation’s family planning program, advises the Department on a number of public health priorities, including reproductive rights, as well as leads efforts across HHS related to adolescent health, including administration of the evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention program.

Demetria McCain, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, HUD

Demetria McCain serves as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). At FHEO, McCain assists HUD’s efforts to eliminate housing discrimination, promote economic opportunity, and achieve diverse, inclusive communities.

Lynn Grosso, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement, HUD

Lynn Grosso is the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement in the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity at the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. Under Lynn’s leadership, HUD enforces broad civil rights authority to provide inclusive, accessible housing, free from discrimination, across the nation.

Joshua Black, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Multilateral Affairs, NSC

Josh Black is Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Multilateral Affairs on the National Security Council (NSC) staff at the White House. He leads the NSC team responsible for United Nations and international organization affairs, refugee/migration policy, and global criminal justice.

Non-Federal Government Advisors

Aaron Ford, Attorney General of the State of Nevada

Aaron D. Ford is the Attorney General of the State of Nevada. In his position, Attorney General Ford has led his state’s legal defenses against efforts to overturn free and fair elections; held legally accountable those who had a hand in causing the opioid crisis in Nevada; and worked diligently for criminal justice reform.

Steven Reed, Mayor of Montgomery, Alabama

As the first Black Mayor of Montgomery, Alabama in the city’s 200-plus-year history, Mayor Reed is transforming the Birthplace of the Civil Rights Movement into a leader in the New South. Despite challenges stemming from the global COVID-19 pandemic, state legislative overreach and old powers gasping for relevancy, Mayor Reed’s bold, progressive vision continues shifting the narrative and changing the trajectory for Montgomery – creating a community where everyone has a chance to live, learn and earn.

A Letter Urging PFPAD President Epsy Campbell Bar to Immediately Fulfill the Mandate Given by Civil Society to Request an Advisory Opinion from the International Court of Justice

At the launch of the first session of the Permanenet Forume on People of African Descent (PFPAD) on December 6, 2022, Balanta Society President Siphiwe Baleka invoked the mandate of the PFPAD to Request an Advisory Opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the status of Afro Descendants as Prisoners of War under the Geneva Convention. On April 5, 2023, A MANDATE FROM THE AFRO DESCENDANT PEOPLE ISSUED TO THE PERMANENT FORUM ON PEOPLE OF AFRICAN DESCENT TO REQUEST AN ADVISORY OPINION FROM THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE ON THEIR STATUS AS PRISONERS OF WAR UNDER THE GENEVA CONVENTION was signed by 248 representatives of Afro Descendant Civil Society and sent to PFPAD President Epsy Campbell Bar. On May 30th, the draft Request for an Advisory Opinion from the ICJ was delivered to PFPAD President Epsy Campbell Barr at the 2nd Session of PFPAD held in New York. And finally, on July 25, 2023, PFPAD President Epsy Campbell Barr responded that, “As President of this space, I have requested the incorporation of this item in the agenda of the next meeting, to proceed to analyze it jointly.”

Since then, a number of developments have occurred. Caribbean countries are considering approaching the UN’s international court of justice (ICJ) for a legal opinion on demanding compensation from 10 European countries over slavery. The prime minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves said a decision on a formal approach to the ICJ to receive a legal advisory would probably be taken in August at a meeting of a prime ministerial subcommittee on reparations of the Caribbean countries in August led by the Barbados prime minister, Mia Mottley.

“This is a very serious matter,” said Gonsalves. “We have had some legal work done already prepared,” he added, saying the issue was gaining “more and more traction” in Europe.

“We are at the stage where we probably will go to the international court of justice for an advisory opinion, but there are other parallel activities which are taking place and this is gathering momentum,” he told the Guardian in Brussels.

The roundtable in Barbados was held, but Balanta Society President Siphiwe Baleka, who has been the leading force and drafter of the ICJ Request was not invited. Reports from that meeting, however, showed that CARICOM has its own vision for reparations and any request for an ICJ Advisory Opinion coming from CARICOM will come from a different point of view and ask a different set of questions than those originally posed by civil society attending PFPAD.

Additionally, the Brattle Group Report on Reparations for Transatlantic Chattel Slavery, was published with Judge Patrick Robinson, a leading judge at the International Court of Justice playing an instrumental role. In response to these events, Mr. Baleka wrote,

“The fact that an ICJ Judge was a consultant on this report ought to signal to us (civil society) to become more active and vocal about getting an iCJ Advisory Opinion. Remember, this is what Malcolm and Imari Obadele wanted - to get this thing into an international court.... let's finish the unfinished business. It's not for one person (me) to do it alone. We need people to build a movement and especially to get PFPAD to make the Request now. Why are we waiting until April of next year to discuss it again instead of just initiating the process whereby the ICJ can discuss it?

It has now been brought to our attention that others seeking an ICJ Advisory Opinion are objecting to the framework and narrative that emphasizes that the people taken from Africa were not slaves but were taken as prisoners of war. The African Union is signaling that it is ready to enter the reparations arena by working with CARICOM and its Ten Point plan which is mostly a development plan rather than a self determination plan. Mr. Baleka’s concern is that if the Barbados group or any other group initiates separate requests for an Advisory Opinion, it may have negative consequences, especially if the right questions are not asked. The ICJ may not appreciate multiple requests on essentially the same subject with different questions. There is the risk of diluting the original, most powerful request that was presented to PFPAD President Epsy Campbell Barr to sign or that the campaign initiated by Afro Descendant civil society will become the victime of elite capture by lawyers and government officials. Towards an effort to preserve the interest of civil society, Christopher Jones, the male co-chair of the IDPAD Coalition U.K., has drafted the following letter. If you support his call to preserve the original MANDATE FROM THE AFRO DESCENDANT PEOPLE ISSUED TO THE PERMANENT FORUM ON PEOPLE OF AFRICAN DESCENT TO REQUEST AN ADVISORY OPINION FROM THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE ON THEIR STATUS AS PRISONERS OF WAR UNDER THE GENEVA CONVENTION that was signed by 248 representatives of Afro Descendant Civil Society and sent to PFPAD President Epsy Campbell Bar, please complete the form below.

Carol Ammons, State Representative, Illinois 103rd, USA

Siphiwe Baleka, Balanta B'urassa History and Genealogy Society in America Guinea Bissau

Andre Queen, Balanta B'rassa, USA

Nnamdi Sobukwe, All african people revolutionary party, USA

Dr. LaWana Richmond, United States

Christopher Buchanan El, Parliament Organics Non-profit, United States

Sticks Nkambule, SWATCAWU, Swaziland

Morgan Moss JR, Ubuntu National & International Trade & Education, (UNITE), United States

Im Manu El Bey, Universal Human Rights Coalition, America

Jose Lingna Nafafe, University of Bristol, UK United Kingdom

Phillip Beckles-Raymond, University of West London, United Kingdom

KEVIN EDWARDS, Antigua and Barbuda

Kofi Adjepong, FOADBO, Ghana

Mindstro XBOOM ! - Black Opinion On Matters, UK

MaryJo Copeland, Personal Racial Reconciliation Group in Fairfax, VA, United States

Darren Crenshaw, Street Salvation Ministries / New Afrikan Tribal Collective, United States of America

Isegunti Agau Kpossou, New Afrikan Tribal Collective. Loyal House of Isegunti, USA

Aaron Ammons, Champaign County Cletk, Illinois, USA

Jabari Lane, Community Healing Network, United States

Matt Meyer, International Peace Research Association, United States

Sherry A Suttles, Republic of New Afrika, Gullah Jack District, as of 10-13-23, United States

Kofi Ansa, Balanta Burassa, United States

Kamm Howard, Reparations United, United States

Ashraf Cassiem, Anti Eviction Campaign (Cape Town, Chicago,Los Angeles), South Africa

Vincent Woods, United States

Christopher Buchanan El, Parliament Organics Non-profit, United States

William Lee, Balanta, USA

Nicole Holmes, Balanta B'urassa History and Genealogy Society in America, Guinea Bissau/USA

Gabriella Beckles-Raymond, England

Curtis Murphy, Fihankra, Ghana

Pamella Campbell, GACuk GLOBAL AFRIKAN CONGRESSuk, Uk

PATRICK PASSLEY LVO, GLOBAL AFRIKAN CONGRESS, UKUNITED KINGDOM

Dorritt Akinbobola, Joint Council of churches for All Nations, United Kingdom

Neil Miller, England

Judy Richards,Nebaioth Prophetic Ministies.United Kingdom

Audrey Eccleston, Joint Council of Churches for all Nations, United Kingdom

Gifford Rhamie, Rockstone Consultancy, United Kingdom

NZABI MISAMU, DYNAMIC MATONGE, BELGIUM

Iman Uqdah Hameen, Pan African Veterans and Elders of the Diaspora (PAVED), United States

Jeanne Dubose, United States

Maynard Henry, N'COBRA, United States

Vincent Woods, United States

Tafari Thompson, Ethiopia Africa Black International Congress, Bahamas

Olatunji Mwamba, United States

Sengbe El-Bey, Balanta B'urassa Society, USA

William Lee, USA

Elsie Gayle, IDPAD Coalition, UK

Laurel Klafehn, United States

Kwaku Kwaku, TAOBQ (The African Or Black Question), UK

Cecile Johnson, African Development Plan, United States

Heru Menelik, Rastafari Inity Council of Jamaica, Jamaica

Nicole Holmes,Balanta B’urassa Historical Society In American, USA

Linda Tinsley, United States

Joe Washington, The Nia Foundation, Italy

Sher Griffin, Saybrook University, United States

ILLINOIS STATE REPRESENTATIVE CAROL AMMONS AND BBHAGSIA PRESIDENT SIPHIWE BALEKA DISCUSS AFRICAN AMERICAN PRISONER OF WAR STATUS, ETHNOCIDE AND THE PLEBISCITE FOR SELF DETERMINATION

Spetember 23, Bisssu - BBHAGSIA President Siphiwe Baleka apeared on the WEFT 90.1 fm Higher Ground radio program with Illinois State Representative Carol Ammons to discuss the status of African Americans as prisoners of war, the ethnocide that was committed against them and the need to frame reparations under a plebiscite for self determination. During the program, Mr. Baleka explained the pitfalls of using the established “slave trade” historical narrative in the quest for reparations and advocating framing the issue as state sanctioned trafficking of prisoners of war and state-sanctioned ethnocide. Reparations is generally understood as remedy for damage incurred in war and not for “trade”. Listen to the full discussion here which starts around the 25:00 mark.

Earlier, on May 24 of this year, Representative Ammons succeeded in passing Illinois House Resolution 292 that declares the State of Illinois should take the lead on issues of Pan-Africanism, citizenship in Africa, and reparatory justice, and the State should champion the Eighth Pan-African Congress Part 1 (8PAC1) and its agenda to develop a continental-wide diaspora citizenship plan, establish the African Diaspora as the 6th Region of the African Union (AU), and determine a permanent headquarters for the 6th Region. Calls upon the State to immediately, through its African Descent-Citizens Reparations Commission (ADCRC), provide matrilineal and patrilineal DNA testing through African ancestry to determine the ancestral lineages and territories of origin of its Black residents so that they can seek citizenship in their ancestral homelands, if so desired. Calls upon the State to become the first to conduct a repatriation census in preparation for honoring President Abraham Lincoln's desire for voluntary repatriation with compensation and to make conducting the repatriation census its immediate priority.

BBHAGSIA President Siphiwe Baleka Presents at the Future Black America Conference, September 19

On Friday, September 19th, BBHAGSIA Founder and President Siphiwe Baleka talked with Yul Anderson - President-Founder African American Future Society about the future of Black America, the Permament Forum of People of African Descent, pursing justice in international courts, the developments in West Africa, and more. You can watch the discussion at the video below and see all the presentation at

FUTURE BLACK AMERICA CONFERENCE

Nkechi Taifa's Human Rights and Justice Podcast: Episode 52 Featuring Siphiwe Baleka

This is the one year anniversary episode of Human Rights and Justice, Episode 52, featuring the words and works of Brother Siphiwe Baleka. This is his third visit to Human Rights and Justice, this time highlighting the importance of international law heralding from Malcolm X and Imari Obadele, the issue of a plebiscite for Black People in the U.S., petition to the United Nations Permanent Forum on People of African Descent for an inquiry to the International Court of Justice for a ruling on the status of Black people, and more!

Decade of Return to Guinea Bissau Coordinator Siphiwe Baleka meets with the New Minister of Tourism, Faustino Mamadu Saliu Jaló

Faustino Mamadu Saliu Jaló was born on April 30, 1963, in Gabú. He studied communication engineering from 1987 to 1994 at the University of Coimbra (engineering faculty). Secretary General of the Guinean Workers' Party (PTG). He was Prime Minister Dr. Faustino Imbali's chief of staff. He was also chief of staff for the former President of the Transitional Republic, Henrique Pereira Rosa. He was Inspector General of Social Communication. He now holds the post of Secretary of State for Tourism.

September 6, Bissau - Decade of Return Coordinator and Coordinator of the Lineage Restoration Council of Guinea Bissau, Mr. Siphiwe Baleka, met with the new Minister of Tourism, Faustino Mamadu Saliu Jaló, to discuss the Decade of Return progam that was officially launched on February 23, 2021 under State Secretary of Tourism Nhima Sisse in partnership with the Balanta B’urassa History & Genealogy Society in America. Mr. Baleka, who met with the former State Secretary of Tourism Fernando Vaz when he replaced Ms. Nhima Sisse, met with the new State Secretary Jaló to discuss the potential of the Decade of Return program and to advise the new Secretary on how the Ministry of Tourism can develop the program.

“As I have done with each of the State Secretaries of Tourism in the past three years, I explain what the Ministry of Tourism needs to do in order to benefit from a ‘Year of Return’ program much like Ghana and Sierra Leone,” said Mr. Baleka, who has become the chief connection to the country for African American people that have taken the African Ancestry dna test and discovered that their maternal or paternal ancestors are Balanta, Fula, Djola, Brame, Mandinka or other descendant of Guinea Bissau. “It’s important for the Ministry of Tourism to understand that the descendants have ties to other countries, and they aren’t just going to come to Guinea Bissau as their only option. The country is not well-known and there are language barriers. The Ministry of Tourism will have to compete for their tourism. When they do, we can expect to see a significant increase in toursim from a completely new sector of people.”

February 8, 2021 Decade of Return meeting with Secretary of Tourism, Nhima Sisse (3rd from left), her Chief of Staff (1st from left), and the Assistant to the Minister of Sport and former Decade of Return Coordinator Balanto Djassi( aka Yama Cisse, 2nd from left below).

However, despite having concluded five group tours under the Decade of Return program, the government’s engagement has been slow and limited. Mr. Baleka cites the citizenship process as one example.

“I explained to Secretary Jaló that 23 descednats of prisoners of war that were captured from territories in Guinea Bissau, have applied for Guinea Bissau citizenship as is their right under international law and specifically the Geneva Convention which Guinea Bissau is signatory to,” said Mr. Baleka. “However, its been over a year and a half since they have applied for citizenship and paid the $600 fee and they still have not yet received their citizenship. The delay in granting citizenship is creating doubt and uncertainty and threatening the sincereity and reputation of the government of Guinea Bissau.”

During the Second Decade of Return Group in June of 2021, Balanta descendants, including Kamm Howard (former NCOBRA National Co-Chair and current Director of Reparations United ) and Robin Rue Simmons (former 5th Ward Alderman for the City of Evanston, IL, where she led, in collaboration with others, the passage of the nation’s first municipally-funded reparations legislation for Black resident and current Founder and Executive Director of FirstRepair) expressed the deisre for citizenship.

Immediately after the June meeting, the former State Secretry of Tourism issued the following letter to the Prime Minister:

GOVERNMENT OF GUINEA BISSAU; MINISTRY OF TOURISM AND CRAFTS
MINISTER'S OFFICE AND GOVERNMENT SPEECH

Your Excellency

Eng Nuno Gomes Nabian
Prime Minister

BISSAU:
Bissau, June 25, 2021

Subject: Request of Acquisition of Nationality to African American Descendants of Guinea Bissau

No. Ref 2/ GMTA/2021

Excellency,
The Minister of Tourism and Crafts presents His best and respectful greetings to your Excellency, with the best wishes of success in the performance of your noble role for the development of Guinea-Bissau. We inform you that within the framework of our partnership, the members of the "Balanta Burassa History and Genealogy Society in the United States” began to return to their origins through an initiative called “Decade of Return” in which we have already received two groups of this audience. According to DNA tests, they discovered that they originate from Guinea-Bissau. As an initiative of capital importance for the tourist sector in Guinea Bissau, associated with the aforementioned factors, we hereby request the good offices of Your Excellency, in order to authorize the start of the process for the acquisition of nationality to these people, according to the attached documents. It should be noted that an inter-ministerial commission was created for this purpose, in which an element of the Ministry of Justice has guided this entire nationality application process. No more subject for the moment. Accept my distinct consideration.

Fernando Vaz, Minister of Tourism

On November 26, 2021 a third Decade of Return group came to Guinea Bissau and a meeting was held with Prime Minister Nuno Gomes Nabian and Minister of Tourism and Crafts and Government Spokesman, FERNANDO VAZ, who assured that “everything will be done to accelerate the process of naturalization of the African Americans.”

November 26, 2021 meeting with Balanta B’urasa History and Genealogy Society in America President Siphiwe Baleka 1st from left); Sylvia Robey (3rd from left); former Prime Minister Nuno Gomes Nabian (center); former State Secretary of Tourism Fernando Vaz (5th from left); and Djola History and Genealogy Society in America President Jewell Felder-James (far right).

Despite the public pronounced support for granting citizenship to the lost descendants of the Balanta, Djola, Fula, Brame and others, their citienship applications still sit at the Council of Minister awaiting final approval and signature. Says Mr. Baleka,

“We hope the new administration, and particularly the State Secretary of Tourism Faustino Mamadu Saliu Jaló will quickly finish the naturalization process by approving the applications in their Council of Ministers meeting before the end of the month and then prepare and coordinate the citizenship ceremony with the Decade of Return Coordinators for their upcoming tours in November 2023, February 2024 and May 2024. This will be the catalyst for a significant increase in tourism from the people of Guinea Bissau who were kidnapped from their families and enslaved in the Americas. Secretary Jaló said that we can count on him.”