Thursday, November 14th - Fifty-five (55) individuals representing the leadership of civil society organisations in the nine sub-regions of the African Union 6th Region attended a Town Hall Zoom Meeting and agreed on a process to elect twenty representatives to the African Union’s Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC). The Town Hall Zoom meeting followed a consultation with the Working Group on Indigenous Populations and Minorities in Africa at the 81st Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) which advised the AU 6th Region to “Hold a truly representative gathering of the African Diaspora, hash it out amongst yourself, and come to the Roundtable with your 20 representatives..” The ACHPR passed a milestone resolution that places the African Diaspora issues, including their “Right to Return” and obtain citizenship, as well as Reparations and formally establishing the AU 6th Region, on the agenda for an ACHPR Roundtable scheduled for May 25th.
The process for electing the African Diaspora representatives follows ECOSOCC Statute Article 5 section 3 which states, "African Diaspora organizations shall establish an appropriate process for determining modalities for elections and elect twenty (20) CSO's to the ECOSOCC General Assembly". During the Town Hall Zoom meeting, modalities were presented, discussed and accepted. [See: ELECTING THE AFRICAN DIASPORA/AU 6TH REGION REPRESENTATIVES FOR THE AFRICAN UNION ECONOMIC SOCIAL AND CULTRAL COUNCIL (AU-ECOSOCC)]
Nine (9) Region Coordinators have now been appointed who will lead election team volunteers in the region to explain the process, receive nominations, and conduct the election voting. Anyone interested in getting involved in the process and nominating representatives from their region should join the Regional Coordinating Committee Groups:
Brazil: https://chat.whatsapp.com/DGbX9e3g9QP0iEIXoWAnaK - Coordinator: Abemi Ade Sinaimo - Coordinator Natl. Network of Black Women Fight Against Violence
United States: https://chat.whatsapp.com/Cp6wvxNra0U3YcrEniOdxq - Coordinator: Moriel McClerklin - AFRIDU
Europe: https://chat.whatsapp.com/JkP4SRVyydPC5cSWIeIxzX - Coordinator: Keturah Amoaka -SOAD
Canada: https://chat.whatsapp.com/L4k3daQnmW714Sae080bRn - Coordinator: Janette Lumley - SOAD
Asia & Oceana: https://chat.whatsapp.com/HKXAepS9DgjIpgadzlEUPw - Coordinator: TBA
Middle East: https://chat.whatsapp.com/G7KPzydCEUKJykM2O16Sbi - Coordinator: Khazriel Ben Yehuda -African Diaspora in Dimona, Israel
South America: https://chat.whatsapp.com/KxX0vk5tffVEjC1aa5Xrdx - Coordinator: TBA
Central America: https://chat.whatsapp.com/GMEHrN9pFLMC9Cd5m1x7fY Coordinator: Roy Guevara Arzu - Honduras MFPA-AL-CH & AFROAMERIXXI
Caribbean: https://chat.whatsapp.com/BTtk0jXSiPgITKDfbthEjK - TBA
THE AFRICAN DIASPORA UNION (AFRIDU) ENDORSES THE ELECTION PROCESS
THE STATE OF THE AFRICAN DIASPORA (SOAD) ENDORSES THE ELECTION PROCESS
PAN-AFRICAN COUNCIL LETTER OF ENDORSEMENNT OF THE 6TH REGION AU-ECOSOCC ELECTIONS
