At the UN, Geledés proposes actions to combat racism – 07/13/2023 – Daily life

There is no sustainable development without confronting all forms of racism, defended Geledés – Instituto da Mulher Negra, this Wednesday (12), during the UN Forum (United Nations) on sustainability. The event takes place in New York from the 10th to the 19th of July.

Founded by philosopher and writer Sueli Carneiro, the organization works to combat racism and sexism in Brazil. A member of the standing committee of the UN Economic and Social Council, the institute presented a report to the Brazilian delegation this Wednesday, with recommendations for tackling racism and reducing inequalities.

According to sociologist Leticia Leobet Florentino, from Geledés, the recommendations were mostly accepted by the Brazilian State. They will be integrated into Brazil’s positioning and presented on Friday (14).

Among the topics addressed are access to drinking water and basic sanitation for the black population and traditional communities, the supply of clean energy and its distribution in peripheral areas, and the National Housing Policy.

Brazil is expected to propose, for example, that all Member States commit to ensuring investments in infrastructure, mainly in marginalized areas and occupied by Afro-descendants and indigenous communities.

For this, the partnership between the public and private sectors, in addition to civil society, must be strengthened, and the follow-up of actions must be complete.

In this sense, the evaluation of public policies should include the collection and analysis of data with gender, race and ethnicity, for recognition of disparities and identification of areas where inequalities are more prevalent.

The institute was announced as a member of the permanent committee of the UN Economic and Social Council in September 2022. Since then, it has produced and presented reports based on the social, political and economic needs of black women.

The institution also proposed the use of technologies and practices developed by traditional indigenous and Afro-descendant communities as an ecologically sustainable solution for the country’s development, which also contributes to the appreciation of the culture of these peoples and communities.

According to the report, the disproportion in access to health left black people more exposed to the coronavirus and, consequently, to mortality.

The conditions of social inequality of black people also worsened during the pandemic, increasing the gaps in education, low employability and the food insecurity crisis in black families.

“All of this has an impact on the increase in structural inequalities and reinforces the stigma of this population in society. This situation results from an inability of the Brazilian State to face systemic racism, which puts the much-desired sustainable development at an ever-increasing distance. sustainable development without confronting racism”, reads the text.

For the institution, the UN’s 2030 Agenda will only be effectively fulfilled if Member States commit to addressing and combating racism in a comprehensive way.

Geledés also participates in the UN Committee against Torture, the Human Rights Council, the Working Group on People of African Descent and the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent, in addition to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.